I AM invites you to place yourself within the sculpture and take a photograph, then upload it to your favourite social media platform and tag #IAMGeelong
We commissioned artist, Mark
Cuthbertson, to create this large-scale, text-based public sculpture to celebrate members of our
community who have a lived experience with disability.
In drawing reference to powerful political and pop culture
statements – such as the 1968 Memphis black sanitation workers slogan, 'I AM A Man', and Helen Reddy’s 1971 anthem, 'I Am Woman' – the work recognises the empowerment of diversity in our society.
Mark worked with artistic collaborators – Robert Croft, Hannah Wilkinson, Christian Den Besten and George Macaronis – as well as over 85 community members who contributed to the final design through a series of development workshops.
The artwork stands over 2-metres tall and is created from white concrete. It features the curated text-based works of the contributing community members, which have been inlaid into the side profile of each letter in the statement: I AM.
The sculpture can be laid out in different ways in open space and is designed to be relocatable. This means it can be shifted around different sites within the municipality and made as widely accessible to the community as possible.
To watch a documentary about the community members who helped shape the work, and learn more about the project, please visit the ArtGusto website.
Previous Locations, all on Wadawurrung Country:
- Opposite 1 Eastern Beach Road, Geelong
- Austin Park, Lara
- Geelong West Town Centre, Geelong West