Lavender Bay in Sydney has taken some major transformations over the years, from a industrial harbor with a large train system to one of the biggest art hubs in Sydney. But what does it have to do with these group of artists?
A small suburb in Sydney, Lavender Bay is a 10-minute walk from Dawes Point on the south shore of Sydney Harbor. it was a place where artists have taken residency through open studios and one-off events to create immersive installations.
Before it became one of the centers of art in Sydney, Lavender bay was a industrial harbor town, It was also a major train station for industrial goods and subsequently became the reason Lavender Bay became known as the “Lavender City”.
The bay has been painted by a number of artists before its was established as a industrial hub in the late 1950s, Including one of Australia’s most famous colonial painter, English born Conrad Martens, and one of Australia’s greatest female still-life painter Margaret Olley.
Walker Street in Lavender Bay had a row of five large houses over looking Sydney Harbor, because of the industry surrounding the area rent was fairly cheap, which was a stark contrast to the view it had overlooking the bay.
For a couple that was returning from a ten year trip in America and Europe, it was the perfect location to establish there studios
Brett and Wendy Whiteley.
They first saw Lavender Bay when they visited their old friend from London, Rollin Schlicht. Rollin is an artist who lived in Lavender Bay with his partner Diana. He had established a studio for himself a few years prior. it wasn’t long before Brett and Wendy took a flat upstairs to establish there own studio.
After Rollin and his partner left lavender bay, Brett and Wendy decided to buy the whole residents and convert it back into one large house, Wendy was mostly in charge of how the house was designed and decorated, with both of them working out of the studio.
Over the next few years more artists started moving into walker street including Tim Storrier, Tom Carment, Peter Kingston, Garry Shead, Philip Cox, Frannie Hopkirk, Robert Jacks, Gavin Wilson and Martin Sharp. Frannie Hopkirk was writer who was also Brett’s Sister. Frannie sat twice for William Pidgeon having her portrait win a Archibald prize. She wrote the book ‘Brett’ in 1996, a biography of her brother and also wrote ‘The seven loves of Mary Magdalen’ in `2015, a memoir that was short-listed for the Finch Memoir Prize.
TIM STORRIER
Tim Storrier was a Australian artist who had done a lot of work dealing with three dimensional painting, he had worked in collaboration with Brett Whiteley on a number of projects and wanted to learn more about how Brett went about painting his many works.
Storrier had moved into Walker street and used to display his art work in the backyard at night under dim lighting so people could appreciate his work.
He grew up near Wellington, New South Wales, and was educated at the Sydney Church of England Grammar School and later on at the National Art School in Sydney.
Storrier began his career in the 1960s as a figurative artist, but by the 1970s he had become associated with an emerging post-modern movement that used traditional techniques and media to explore issues of identity and social history. as well as also curated art exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney during the late 1980s.
Tim has been awarded the Sulman Prize twice, in 1968 and 1984, awarded an AM for services to art in Australia in 1994, the Archibald Prize in 2012, and the Wynne Prize in 2013.
JOEL ELENBERG
Joel Elenberg was an artist that had worked with Brett Whiteley in the past on other projects and had a close relationship with Brett. He later on stayed with Brett Whiteley at Arthur Boyd’s Italian house “Casa Peretaio” in Pisa 1977 and held a breakout exhibition at the prestigious Robin Gibson Gallery in 1979.
TOM CARMENT
Tom Carment joined the group in 1974 at the age of 19 after studying at the Julian Ashton Art School and working on oil paintings with Brett and Wendy in the midst’s of renovations.
He stayed at lavender bay for around a year watching and learning from the artists in the group including the differnt techniques that Brett Whiteley and Tim Storrier used on there paintings, he also helped Wendy establish her garden further towards the bay that eventually became known as “Wendy’s garden” which is now a iconic garden in the area.
After moving away from lavender bay he worked with Max Miller for a brief time and later won the 2008 Gallipoli Art Prize and the 2014 NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize.
PHILIP COX
Philip Cox was a architect that had graduated from the University of Sydney in 1969 and had early success as a architect. He has been previously nominated for the prestigious Wynne award.
As a young architect in the sixties, from the 1971, Philip Cox was to take up a position at the Architectural Design Queensland as a research officer. There were 28 architects employed at this time and Cox had the responsibility of being responsible for all projects.
For 38 years, he worked at this firm until his retirement in 2008. Philip was awarded the Gold medal of the Royal Australian institute of architecture.
In 1999, Philip was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). For many years he had taught at Queensland University and won many important awards. Including designing some of Australia’s most recognizable structures including Aami Park in Melbourne
GAVIN WILSON
Gavin Wilson original studied architecture at the university of Sydney, with his focus quickly moving to art and filmmaking, He took a trip through Asia and across Europe to North America during 1973-74 collaborating with Peter Kingston and invited to hold a exhibition of his experimental film in 1979 Paris alongside films by Stan Brackage and Andy Warhol.
Brett Whitley’s exit from the Lavender Bay Hub
Within a span of a few years, walker street had began to really gather steam as the go-to place to be when it came to new and modern art coming out of Sydney with extravagant parties and celebrity guests it was becoming a social hub for the art community.
The Group of artists even worked on a film together shot by Gary Shead titled The Phantom, which we talked about in one of our previous episodes on out art facts video series.
Walker Street Sydney had enjoyed many years of prosperity, but unfortunately heading into the late 1980s, the group started drifting apart pursuing other interests.
Brett Whiteley health had also started declining , which had a big effect on him. he moved away from Lavender bay slowly moving into a more secluded life style at his home in north head.
Travelling to japan in 1990 just before his order of australia award in 1991 and died of liver cancer in Wollongong in 1992.
He was considered one of Australia’s greatest living artist with a number of awards and honors from the national gallery of Australia and numerous accolades from overseas exhibitions and critics.
Before Brett’s and Wendy’s time at the bay, they had enjoyed a creative and fulfilling relationship, Which had helped them become a major force in the art industry.
Brett did a fairly large and controversial work in America called “American Dream” which he painted in the Chelsea hotel in New York.
The work was based around the social change that was happening around America at the time with Brett spending hours on end working on the artwork in the hotel with artist such as Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan staying at the same hotel around 1968-69. Wendy was also known for doing abstract color works that had a strong sense of rhythm and movement.
Also becoming very well known at some of the British art galleries in London, where he would exhibit his large works.
In 1968 he had been commissioned to create a large scale series of 9 pieces for a Beverly hills gallery named Griselda Blanchard Gallery. “The Sunset Project” was initially an urban landscape project that featured photographs and sculptures of the city’s beautiful sunsets and surrounding landscapes. The Sunset Project would eventually evolve into one of Brett Whiteley’s most popular works.
Brett Whiteley won the Archibald prize with his works done in the mid seventies and again in 1978.
Lavender Bay Today
Today the Lavender Bay holds exhibitions that lasts for a month before the space reverts back into commercial units. On opening night, an artist will lead participants through the installation as it is being created.
Participants can use Lavender Bay as their own personal canvas. The event is held with a public party for all attendees, featuring live performances from DJs and musicians.
The Walker Street studio is now a dance school called “Beyond Dance” with some of the artists still live in Lavender Bay including Wendy Whiteley who has continued to work amongst the art scene in lavender bay including overseeing the restoration of a garden space in lavender bay creating a place for people to enjoy the beautiful location that it is.
VIDEOS
FURTHER READING
Bohemian Harbour: Artists of Lavender Bay | Sydney Living Museums
Lavender Bay, 1974 | Sydney Living Museums
In conversation with Wendy Whiteley | Sydney Living Museums
Art’s Lavender Bay mob: friendships, rivalries, drugs, infidelity and cheap rent (smh.com.au)