Ralf Kempken Marrickville Mural
Commissioned by the Inner West Council through The Wall Station, Ralf Kempken’s 16 metre aluminium stencil is a feature of the new Marrickville Library and Pavillion open space courtyard.
The three dimensional aspects of the aluminium panels inspire viewers to approach the artwork from different angles and explore the optical illusions created by the screens.
The artwork is inspired by the story of the children working in the brickyards as ‘puggers’ who were removed from school by their families to help make ends meet. In the 1880s, Marrickville had the largest brick making site in Sydney.
Schoolmaster Richard Guile from St. Peter’s Certified Church of England School was actively against young children being taken out of his school and advocated for their education to come first. In response to children being removed from the school, Reverend Charles Baber set up a Night School for the children working at the brickyards through the St Peter’s Church.
Ralf Kempken’s practice of creating ‘screens’ represents the way we filter all we see through past experiences and memories, particularly childhood. The way we view the world is always filtered and screened through our own personal experience. The vertical lines of Ralf’s artwork create an optical illusion and challenge the viewer to work to interpret the imagery of the children.
As secondary imagery, Ralf has included adult faces to represent educational figures and workers from the brickyards who would have each added to the children’s learning and educational opportunities. Images of children’s eyes from various racial backgrounds from images, past and present, are featured in the artwork.
Using historical photos, Ralf Kempken primarily used photographs of school children aged 8 to 14 from the Marrickville Brickyards era to represent the children working at the brickyards in Marrickville. Historical images of some adult brickmakers were also incorporated into the artwork.
About Marrickville Library and Pavillion
The new Marrickville Library and Pavilion is a stunning new library that has to be seen. The building integrates contemporary design and technology with the original, conserved heritage elements of the main hospital building. It is uncompromising with regards to sustainability, with recycled elements wherever possible and clever design features that reduce energy consumption.
The entire second floor is dedicated to Council’s historic art book collection that until now – due to space issues - has not been easily accessible to the public. The building has won five architectural awards.