Braham Stevens (born 1968) is an Australian artist whose work is influenced by environmental processes and the intricate networks found in nature and science.
He is best known for his site-specific large-scale works of public art that are conceived to engage with their surroundings - [1] such as Embrace Cairns performing arts precinct, [2] Reflection at James Cook University, [3] Drift Wellington Point Brisbane, [4] Into the Blue City of Rockingham Foreshore, Western Australia, [5] Guulbughul Reconciliation Rocks Cape York [6] and Eye on the Horizon at Port Kembla, Headland Wollongong. [7]
Since early childhood, Stevens has experienced a deep self-affirming connection and fascination with the natural world. His ongoing direct engagement with the wilderness emotionally reinforces and energises his creativity and practice.
In his early years Stevens regularly attended life drawing and portraiture classes at Albury Technical/Arts and Crafts College, later studying Applied Arts and Metal Smithing at Melbourne Technical College and Industrial Arts and Commercial Design at North East London Polytechnic.
Relocating to Europe and London in the late 1980s, Stevens was an active participant in the vibrant Carnaby Street art and music collective subculture.
Initially creating ephemeral art with found natural materials - including mudlarking on the River Thames, Stevens' later experimentation with stone, recycled metal and alloy, helped develop evolving techniques and processes to make more permanent durable structures that could withstand time and the elements.
Stevens' diverse multi-disciplinary professional career has transversed multiple mediums, scale, techniques and dynamic processes, he has exhibited in Australia and Internationally since the 1990's, his most prominent public works include:
Wollongong, colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound of the sea'. Wollongong lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 85 kilometres south of central Sydney. Wollongong had an estimated urban population of 302,739 at June 2018, making it the third-largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle and the tenth-largest city in Australia by population. The city's current Lord Mayor is Gordon Bradbery AM who was elected in 2021.
Cairns is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the 2021 census, Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
Batemans Bay is a town in the South Coast region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Batemans Bay is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire council. The town is situated on the shores of an estuary formed where the Clyde River meets the southern Pacific Ocean.
Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia. The land is mostly flat and about half of the area is used for grazing cattle. The relatively undisturbed eucalyptus-wooded savannahs, tropical rainforests and other types of habitat are now recognised and preserved for their global environmental significance. Although much of the peninsula remains pristine, with a diverse repertoire of endemic flora and fauna, some of its wildlife may be threatened by industry and overgrazing as well as introduced species and weeds.
Sutherland Shire is a local government area in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Sutherland Shire is located south of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of 370 square kilometres (140 sq mi) and as at the 2016 census and has an estimated population of 218,464. The Sutherland Shire is colloquially known as "The Shire" which has been featured in several reality television series.
Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire.
Weipa is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is one of the largest towns on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is mainly involved in exports of bauxite. There are also shipments of live cattle from the port.
Laura is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census the locality of Laura had a population of 228 people.
Hope Vale is a town within the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and a coastal locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the Shire of Cook, both in Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2016 census, the locality of Hope Vale had a population of 1,015 people.
Coen is a rural town and coastal locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. The town of Coen is inland on the Peninsula Developmental Road, the main road on the Cape York Peninsula in far northern Queensland. In the 2021 census, the locality of Coen had a population of 320.
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. The waters of Torres Strait include the only international border in the area contiguous with the Australian mainland, between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Reconciliation Place is an urban landscape design in the Parliamentary Triangle Canberra, Australia dedicated to reconciliation between Australia's Indigenous peoples and the mainly European settler population. Reconciliation Place was opened by Prime Minister John Howard in 2002.
The Shire of Douglas is a local government area in Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mossman, covers an area of 2,428 square kilometres (937.5 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1880 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the City of Cairns to become the Cairns Region. Following a poll in 2013, the Shire of Douglas was re-established on 1 January 2014.
The Shire of Cook is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland.
Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. Both the town and Mount Cook which rises up behind the town were named after James Cook.
The Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), formerly the Monash University Gallery, is a contemporary art museum on Monash University's Caulfield campus on Dandenong Road, Melbourne, Australia.
Rockingham is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located 47 km south-south-west of the city centre. It acts as the primary centre for the City of Rockingham. It has a beachside location at Mangles Bay, the southern extremity of Cockburn Sound. To its north stretches the maritime and resource-industry installations of Kwinana and Henderson. Offshore to the north-west is Australia's largest naval fleet and submarine base, Garden Island, connected to the mainland by an all-weather causeway. To the west and south lies the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park.
Richard Claremont is a Wollongong-based Australian painter. His style is expressionistic and related to impressionism. Claremont worked for the Australia Post from 1988 to 2017 and made sketches while delivering mail. He became known as 'the painting postie' in media.
The Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park (GASP) is a sculpture park and boardwalk in Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. Commencing at Montrose Foreshore Community Park, GASP follows Elwick Bay's foreshore, terminating at Wilkinsons Point. GASP is in close proximity to the MyState Bank Arena, Elwick Racecourse and the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Berriedale.