Martin Sharp Tapestry

Martin Sharp, in his tapestry “OZ”, is illustrating  a visual presentation of the words of Bernard O’ Dowd’s poem “Australia”. The Tapestry itself is mounted in the foyer of the State Library of  new South Wales. (State Library of New South Wales,. The “Oz” Tapestry.The Library. [Sydney]. [1993].

The tapestry depicts a visual  image of the words of O’Dowd’s poem and in this depiction relates important events of Australian history. The sailing ship on the ocean tells of the arrival of Captain Cook in 1770, followed by the arrival of The First Fleet in 1788. The small image of Australia on  the opposite side of the tapestry shows the distance of Australia from western civilization.

Depictions of native flora and fauna echo O’Dowd’s wonder  at the difference in the Australian landscape to that of England. Especially, that of the Dingo and the way gum trees shed their bark. The Sun blazes down in the tapestry, just as the Sun blazes down on the countryside. Surrounded by sea O’Dowd likens Australia to the Sargasso sea, that area in the north Atlantic where four currents come together and seaweed gathers in a single mass  without any landform. Martin Sharp depicts this by way of the fish he has swimming all around the landmass of Australia.

“Are you adrift Sargasso, where the west

In halcyon calm rebuilds her fatal nest”

Martin Sharp acknowledges the Aboriginal history of Australia in his depiction of the Ochre hand print, which is culturally significant to Aboriginal people. Uluru is an Aboriginal sacred sight in Central Australia currently administered by an indigenous council to promote and foster understanding. The  painting also depicts the dingo which is native only native to Australia.

Celebration  in Australian history is shown  by the inclusion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the Southern Cross emblazoned in the foreground of the tapestry. This is an illusion to the renowned fire works in Australia at different times of the year. Historic tragedy is shown in the depiction of the  fire at Luna Park. On the 9th of June 1979 The Ghost Train at Luna Park amusement park in North Sydney caught fire. One adult and six children lost their  lives (https://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/1979_Sydney_Ghost_Train).

Creating this visual presentation of  O’Dowd’s poem Martin Sharp has illustrated the intensity of the words of the poem. The poet’s  idea of a vision of a new world, is what inspired him  to write his poetry.