Artwork Shines Hope In A Laneway With A Dark History

Artwork Shines Hope In a Laneway with a Dark History

A pink street lamp will watch over a quiet inner city laneway where a woman named Mary was brutally assaulted 14 years ago.

Tonight the City of Sydney will unveil the artwork Lamp for Mary by local artist Mikala Dwyer in a Surry Hills laneway named Mary's Place off Bourke Street.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said: "This is an important public artwork and a tribute to all women who have experienced violence. This lamp will be an important sign of hope and lights the way forward for equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities."

"This is a sacred place for the local community and I'm pleased the City is able to reinstate a public artwork in this lane," said Ms Moore.

The laneway was changed from Flood Lane to Mary's Place and a community artwork
installed on the road in February 1997 - a year after the brutal assault.

However at some stage the artwork was removed during nearby building works.

Artist Mikala Dwyer said the artwork celebrates the power of survival.

"The idea came out of nowhere and it just seemed liked the necessary thing to do as a gesture to protect, heal, warn and also celebrate the power of survival in Mary," Mikala said.

The City of Sydney invited artists to submit a proposal to reinstate a public artwork in Mary's Place as part of a competitive tender process in January 2009. The artist consulted with a range of key GLBT and community groups including the Roslyn Oxley Gallery, Haughton Design, Wesley Mission, NSW Police Force, ACON Anti-Violence Project, ACON, Wesley Mission, St Michael's Anglican Church, ACON Young lesbians Project and Twenty 10.

Media Contact:
Josh MacKenzie
(02) 9265-9082
0402451459

Lord Mayor's office:
Mark Scala
(02) 9265-9711
0414 746 651

For more City of Sydney media releases go to www.sydneymedia.com.au

SOURCE: City of Sydney