Memory Markers, commemorates the history of the Supreme Court Gardens site. Highlighting the relationship between literature and law, it also honours those who wrote the recorded history of the gardens themselves. Interestingly, the Supreme Court Gardens is the site of the oldest garden and the first Botanical Garden in Western Australia.
In 2006, the City of Perth Art Foundation commissioned artist Anne Neill, in collaboration with landscape architects Blackwell & Associates and heritage consultant Barbara Dundas to design an artwork for this entry to the Supreme Court Gardens. The five 3.5 metre high cast aluminium pen nibs are dedicated to the planners who designed the Stirling Gardens (now, the Supreme Court Gardens).
As you can see, these pen nibs are long and thin, with very intricate embossed details on the upper nib. This presented various castings challenges for the VEEM Foundry as these intricate details needed to be transferred to the mould without loss of definition.
Usually, sand moulds are covered with a layer of paint to prevent the liquid aluminium penetrating the pores of the sand, which would result in a rough surface to the casting. For this particular project, painting the mould would cause the intricate embossed details to be lost. To ensure both a smooth surface and the utmost level of detail, the VEEM Foundry used a very fine grain, heat resistant sand which gave a glass-like finish.
Requiring over 200 hours of labour and cast using approximately 150Kg of marine grade aluminium, the intricate embossed details are still evident in the pen nibs today – a successful outcome for all involved!
With over 50 years of manufacturing experience behind us, along with our unique robotic moulding techniques and patternless casting capabilities, VEEM can manufacture almost any component from your smallest to your largest, in over 250 alloys.