Mitchell Freeway Extension
Bridge Abutments at Butler Boulevard and Lukin Drive
Meet the artist - Penny Bovell
Penny Bovell is a highly qualified and experienced artist with two post graduate degrees and 30 years of practice. She first studied art in London, UK, before finishing a Masters Degree at the University of Western Australia in 1998. Penny has built a strong conceptual and process driven art practice whereby she is inspired as much by natural phenomena as the social history stories she discovers when executing public art projects.
Bridge Abutments at Lukin Drive and Butler Boulevard
For her work on the Bridge Abutments at Lukin Drive and Butler Boulevard as part of the Mitchell Freeway Extension project, Penny Bovell took inspiration from the Neerabup National Park.
The artwork was named after the plant specifics they were inspired by. Hakea Laurina (Butler Boulevard) and Petrophile Macrostachya (Lukin Drive).
She combined linear graphics with bold simple shapes to provide movement and flow across and between the abutment facades and the bonded gravel. The design process included:
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Walking the trails of Neerabup National Park to experience the park’s environment and imagine its history. The ancient Yaberoo Budjara Walk Trail and the early pioneer stock routes were incorporated as mapping devices into the design.
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Photographing and drawing the iconic flora along the walk trail including leaves, flowers, and branches.
The area was disinctly dry, with the designs based on the sharp and prickly leaf formations of the Hakea Laurina for Butler Boulevard and the Petrophile Macrostachya for Lukin Drive.
Laser cut templates and projectors assisted in the translation of patterns and drafting of the design onto the bridge abutments.
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