Background & Scope
French artist and photographer JR, recognised globally for monumental photographic collages and large-scale urban interventions created with public participation, presented Homily to Country during the National Gallery of Victoria’s 2020 Triennial. The ambitious multi-part artwork synthesises portrait photography, documentary footage, and a central architectural glass installation to direct focus toward the ecological decline of the Darling River system.
Ewan McEoin, Senior Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture at the NGV, introduces the work and discusses the significance of portrait photography within the composition. The artwork integrates these photographic portraits directly into the architectural glass elements, positioning them within an open scaffolding framework.
Structural Integration & Installation
EMT executed the structural framing, handling, and mounting of the artwork’s heavy-format glass elements. Manufactured by Axolotl, the artistic glass panels weigh 400 kilograms each and feature a textured lead glass effect.
To manoeuvre these substantial panels safely within the scaffold framework, EMT deployed specialised Quattrolifts glass transport and installation equipment. Operating within exact spatial tolerances, the installation team systematically aligned, lifted, and attached the 400-kilogram panels directly to the scaffolding structure, maintaining precise physical positioning while preserving the visual integrity of JR’s artwork.
Specialised mechanical rigging positions the 400kg architectural glass panel for JR’s NGV installation
EMT utilises precision Quattrolifts equipment to manoeuvre the substantial, textured glass artwork safely
Final alignment and mounting of the heavy-format glass element within the open scaffolding framework
