Playable sculpture brings community together

Dr Sanne Mestrom from the Sydney College of the Arts has created a sculpture that invites the community to gather and connect at the site of a traditional gathering place. Commissioned by the City of Geelong, The Secret reflects Dr Mestrom's aim to use art as a bridge between the built and natural environments and as means to create a place of refuge and play. Boronggook, meaning 'turf', is the traditional Wadawurrung name for the area the new Boronggook Drysdale Library is built. It has always been a place of gathering and connection and Sanne Mestrom's newly commissioned work, The Secret , reflects on both the historical and contemporary use of the site.  "The title of the sculpture weaves together two ideas intrinsic to the site: the contemporary library - as a place of learning and discovery, and the historical significance of the site - a boronggook, a fecund grassy turf - which became a place of gathering and connection," said Dr Mestrom. Both the historical and contemporary use of the site holds untold stories that are to be shared and secrets that are to be imagined. Dr Sanne Mestrom, Sydney College of the Arts The artwork, a black concrete sculpture with brass inlay, is intended to be a place where people can create their own stories and build their own histories. It is designed to capture the imaginations of community members of all ages.