Ethan Birrell
St Aloysius' College
LITTLE BOXES ON THE HILLSIDE...
Collection of Work
Graphic design, 3D printed models
My body of work uses the nostalgia for different generations of houses as a foundation to represent the history of Australian suburbia. This work was inspired when I uncovered the history behind my grandparents' house on Sydney's Northern Beaches, learning how the area went through extreme transformations from paddocks for cattle and other livestock to a maze of houses. My intent in Little Boxes on the Hillside ... was to prompt viewers to question their perception of Australian suburbia.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the artist Ian Strange.
Marker's Commentary
Little Boxes On the Hillside... encapsulates the aspirations of post-WWII society, the streamlined sterile lines of mid-century modernist architecture, and the bland conformity of urban life. The repeated letterbox forms are represented as 'little boxes', a reference to the Malvina Reynolds song of the same name, embodying the lyric's “ticky-tacky” nature. The kitsch decals and house numbers are the only distinguishing features of the box's monotonous façade. Each one acts as a plinth for the 3D marquette, revealing the evolution of the suburban Australian home, from Corbusier's 'machine for living' to a contemporary McMansion. The inserted flyers advertise house and land packages and hark back to a pre-digital age of graphic design, with its use of hand-painted signage and optimistic font. This collection of work has a restraint and sophistication that draws the viewer in to a familiar vernacular that could be representative of any “Aussie” street scene. On closer inspection, the subtle layering of meaning, ironic interpretation and thoughtful rendering elevates this work above the middle-class values it muses on.