Have you ever had a big picture vision and just needed the right people to come along at the right time to help you make it all happen? We at Art4Agriculture have been lucky enough to have met a few of those in the last 6 years who are superstars in their own right
Let me re-introduce you to two people, Craig and Wendy Taylor, who have cemented themselves well and truly in archives that detail the watershed defining moments of Art4Agriculture and The Archibull Prize. You can read how this very important partnership began here
The Central District Exhibit display that officially launched The Archibull Prize in 2010
As you will see from the background story and this recent story in the Sydney Morning Herald Craig and Wendy are the designers of the Central District Exhibit display at the Sydney Royal Easter Show
On behalf of the Art4Agriculture team and people everywhere who flock to the show and see these magnificent displays as their first point of call I want to congratulate Craig and Wendy and their team for taking out the well-deserved FIRST PRIZE accolade at the 2015 Sydney Royal Easter Show
This is the beautiful story behind the winning exhibit
FIELD OF REMEMBERANCE
For the 2015 Central District Exhibit at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, we have elected to commemorate 100 years since the Anzac landings at Gallipoli in 1915. We want to portray this theme primarily through the act of ‘Remembrance’.
Our focus is to use distinctive elements in a quiet, respectful and dignified manner. We want to honour those that fought, their sacrifices and the legacy which they have created in Australia today.
The most recognisable elements commemorating the Anzac landings which are seen in modern Anzac Day ceremonies are all used in the display. These are:
- An Australian Soldier playing the sombre melody of the “Last Post” in the quiet dawn light,
- A field of red poppies blowing in the breeze. Red poppies have been used at such ceremonies since 1921, and are even said to have been used since the time of Genghis Khan to commemorate the sacrifice made soldiers who died in war. These poppies visually evoke the Western Front, as the scarlet corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) was one of the first and most distinctive plants to spring up in the disturbed earth of the battlefields. The poppy was also present at Gallipoli and according to official war historian C.E.W.Bean a valley south of Anzac beach was named Poppy Valley. This poppy is now known as “the Flanders poppy” and is seen commonly at both Remembrance and Anzac Day services around the world.
- The most well-known stanza of “The Ode of Remembrance” from the 1914 poem called “For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon. The reading of the fourth verse has become an intrinsic part of Anzac Day services in Australia and many other parts of the world. “They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.”
- The simple and emotional words known to all Australians, “Lest We Forget”.
On the deck, the fruit, vegetables, grasses and grains form an undulating carpet beneath the poppies and create the base of the field. This patchwork of produce showcases the wide variety of colours, shapes, sizes and textures seen in the agricultural products grown in our area. From the front of the display to the back, the produce is prolific, generous and colourful. The poppies and the produce below them form a consistent and coherent agricultural image.
A pictorial of how the winning District Exhibit came together in 2015
Well done Craig and Wendy we know how much thought, love and passion ( and sometimes tears) go into making these display happen – You are both indeed Legends