About the Wall

 
 
(Above: Six details from the wall)

Something special is taking place in the heart of Tasmania, and you are invited to witness its creation.


Sculptor Greg Duncan is carving the history of Tasmanian Highlands in the form of a sculpted wall. So far, Greg has carved scenes depicting the workers of the Hydro-Electric Scheme and of the forestry industry, and scenes concerning the environmental plight of the wedge-tail eagle and the extinction of the Thylacine (the Tasmanian Tiger).

“I’m not trying to push any particular line,” Greg explains. “I just want to bring the history of the area into the light. There were mistakes and successes in our past. If I am trying to say anything it is that we must learn from the past, good and bad, in order to move into a better future. I want The Wall to be an educational as well as an artistic experience.”

Tasmania’s Premier Paul Lennon described The Wall as having world significance; others have likened Greg’s undertaking to Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel.

“The idea for The Wall is quite a simple one,” Greg says. “I’m carving a series of 100 panels. Each panel is one metre wide and three metres high. The panels will be placed back-to-back. So, by the time I finish, I’ll have created a wall 50 metres long with carvings on both sides - 100 metres all up.”

The idea may be simple, but the scale is breath-taking: Greg is aiming to carve 300 square metres of wood to form The Wall, a task he estimates will take ten years to complete.

In the meantime, you are welcome to visit The Wall and see history in the making.