China’s famous Terracotta Warriors to be unearthed in Martin Place by Chalk Artist

by Chalk Urban Art
16/02/2011

A strip of pavement in bustling Martin Place this week will be transformed into an ancient replica of the unearthing of China’s famous 2000 year old Terracotta Warriors, with a renowned Australian chalk artist adding a modern twist to the historical icons.

Artist Jenny McCracken, who is Australia’s equivalent to popular American and European pavement artists Kurt Wenner and Julian Beaver, will spend the next four days creating a 3D depiction of the unearthing of the Terracotta Warriors, as part of a joint marketing initiative by the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Zest Events.

With the incredible life-size Terracotta Warriors on display at the Art Gallery until March 13, Jenny will create a must see representation of elements of the unique exhibition on the pavement for everyone to enjoy.

“I will be capturing the feeling of the actual excavation back in China in 1974. This way people will be able to pretend they are down in the pits with the warriors and have an interactive opportunity that they won’t get anywhere else,” Ms McCracken said.

“People will have the sense that the warriors are being unearthed from Martin Place.”

Jenny’s artwork is a huge hit with the public. She was recently named the 2010 Champion Pavement Artist & People’s Choice Award at the Sydney Chalk Urban Art Festival and has headlined in a number of international festivals at Germany, Canada and Zurich. Managing Director of Zest Events, Andi Mether said pavement art was an increasingly popular artform both in Australia and overseas.

“Pavement art literally takes ‘art to the people’ - the creative spaces of the artists become part of the public domain,” Ms Mether said.

She said a number of high profile organisations are commissioning pavement art to promote their messages and create awareness about topical issues such as climate change and mental health.

“The nature of pavement artwork is unique as the images live on spreading important messages well after the work has been washed away,” Ms Mether said.

She has recently worked with a number of clients including an experimental campaign on Darling Harbour for IKEA, a 3D Optical Illusion for the Qatar Marine Festival in the Middle East and pavement artwork at Brisbane Mall to promote Earth Hour for Brisbane City Council.

Jenny will start creating her pavement art on Wednesday February 16th and complete this on Saturday 19th February. The artwork will be on display on the corner of Macquarie and Phillip Street (opposite Sydney Hospital) until March 13.

Report Post