A childhood spent yacht racing was Newcastle artist Braddon Snape’s inspiration for his intriguing new piece entitled The SubWharfyen at Darling Harbour.
“I was always surrounded by beautifully machined or crafted stainless steel rigging and equipment,” he said. So when Sydney Wharf commissioned Mr Snape to create a large-scale work depicting the 
relationship between people and the sea, stainless steel seemed like a natural choice.
Mr Snape’s experience in working with hardy materials and a highly evolved visual language proved a winning combination. The finished product is a great success as a premium contemporary development for the area.
Sydney Wharf recognised the potential for stainless steel to meet the requirements of the project for both aesthetics and durability.
“The use of stainless steel relates to its surroundings on both a conceptual and material level,” Sydney Wharf’s Shaun Farren said. “It has a connection with the maritime context and is durable in a marine environment.”
ASSDA Accredited Fabricator Marko Stainless provided their fabrication services for the project, using 450 kilograms of laser cut 3mm sheet in grade 316 stainless steel to produce The SubWharfyen from a one-in-twenty wooden model. Three panels comprise the body, which were rolled to form the curved sides. The panels were TIG welded, and blades MIG welded after initial polishing. All welds were pickled, and the entire sculpture passivated after completion.
On Mr Snape’s specification, a minimum 320 grit finish was used for its satin-like quality. “The finish allows the sculpture to respond to the light and colour of its surrounding environment without being consumed by busy reflections,” Mr Snape said.
Mr Snape describes the sculpture as “a synthesis of my aesthetic, poetic, intellectual and practical response to the particular site and the surrounding locale”.
This articled featured in Australian Stainless Issue 44.
