4 April 2024
In 2024, SA Power Networks is celebrating its centennial birthday of the iconic Stobie Pole as we celebrate our 30th! The Stobie Pole Project 2024 signifies the seventh significant public art initiative commissioned by SA Power Networks in collaboration with the Helpmann Academy.
Established in 2016, the Helpmann public art program stands as a pioneering initiative. Its primary goal aimed to support emerging artists in acquiring valuable experiences and skills necessary for navigating the realm of public art. Moreover, it plays a pivotal role in fostering vibrant urban environments and elevating destination landmarks.
We are thrilled to introduce you to the cohort of The Stobie Pole Project 2024: Adrian Mitton, Chelsea Morey, Katherine Shierlaw and Tiarnie Edwards.
This new series of artworks will be installed around Beefacres Reserves in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and around SA Power Networks’ head office in the City of West Torrens.
This year’s cohort of emerging creatives will be mentored and supported by the established multi-disciplinary artist Christine Cholewa as they develop their abilities and confidence in producing public artworks.
Adrian Mitton
Adrian is a queer, South Australian, emerging artist who explores the contrast between the ephemeral and immutable through the mediums of ceramics, pottery, and floral sculptures with a strong focus on sustainability. Their work is heavily influenced by a sense of place and is an exploration of their local environment.
They are a recent graduate from Flinders University where they completed their Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Arts) and were selected for the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition 2024 where they received the Guildhouse Award.
FOLLOW: @fromthesoilpottery
Chelsie Morey
Chelsie is a mixed-media illustrator, visual artist, and educator. Her experimental approach to picture-making sees her working with a wide range of mediums and combining both traditional and digital, 2D and 3D techniques. Chelsie uses story and illustration to highlight the strange ways people and nature interact with our urban environments. Inspired by the genre of magical realism, her most recent work showcases these everyday urban spaces in a surreal context to defamiliarize routine sights and foster a greater sense of curiosity for everyday life.
She graduated with first-class honours and the highest achievement award from the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Honours) in 2023 and a Bachelor of Design (Illustration and Animation) from the University of South Australia.
FOLLOW: @moreyarti
Katherine Shierlaw
Katherine is an emerging artist living and working on Ramindjeri lands. Her background in geography and town planning is evident in her conceptual interest and the spatial qualities of her work. Working primarily in kiln-formed glass and mixed media to create sculptures and installations she investigates the intersection of space, time, and the intangible connections between humans and the places we occupy.
She is a recent graduate of Bachelor of Contemporary Art from the University of South Australia and was selected for the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition 2024 where she received the Lang Family Foundation / McKee Award.
FOLLOW: @glassfromthesand
Tiarnie Edwards
Tiarnie is a Ngarrindjeri artist based and working on Kaurna Yerta. Their illustrative style works are aimed at storytelling through visual knowledge which they have translated to ceramics, printmaking, drawing, and painting. Their practice reflects their experiences and identity as a Blak person in contemporary so-called Australia and hopes to elevate the voices of not only Indigenous peoples as diverse individuals with multidimensional experiences but wider marginalised voices of the everyday individual.
They recently graduated with a Bachelor of Contemporary Art from the University of South Australia and were selected for the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition 2024 where they received the JamFactory Ceramics Award.
FOLLOW: @mud_wizzard
The Stobie Pole Project 2024 is a partnership between the Helpmann Academy and SA Power Networks and is supported by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and the City of West Torrens.
Images: (1) Adrian Mitton, Place and Replace (2024), photo courtesy of the artist, (2) Chelsie Morey, Paper Pavement (2024), photo courtesy of the artist, (3) Katherine Shierlaw, Knowledge Sprouts (2022), photo by Chris Tangey and (4) Tiarnie Edwards, OUTLAWS (2024), photo by Bente Andermahr