Bruce Reynolds
ACT/QLD b.1955
Fortune 2012
Stainless steel and vitreous enamel
6 parts dimensions various
BCEC Art Collection
Brisbane artist Bruce Reynolds was commissioned in 2010 to create a series of site-specific works for the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre’s expansion onto Grey Street. The resulting body of work spans multiple media – linoleum (Tea Tree Paradox), painting and photography (Fortune), and architecturally integrated reliefs in plaster and polyurethane foam (Unfolded).
These works form part of Pamphlet, a collection named after Thomas Pamphlet, the convict and castaway who, after being marooned in Moreton Bay, later guided explorer John Oxley to the Brisbane River. Across the series, Reynolds weaves together references to early European settlement, the surrounding landscape, the site’s industrial history, and the contemporary life of the Grey Street precinct.
Fortune, the outdoor installation, incorporates imagery of South Bank during the 2011 flood, which inundated the Centre and delayed the opening of the Grey Street expansion until 2012.
The work unfolds across six parts, visible along the building’s Grey Street exterior, from the upper end near South Brisbane train station through to the Centre’s main entrance and adjoining retail spaces, inviting visitors to encounter it as they move through the precinct.
Fortune can be viewed on Grey Street.