It was an artwork inspired by Canberra's autumn colours, something artist Benjamin Shine had been imagining for almost a decade.
Now, Everchange, is in place in Denman Prospect, a seven-metre-tall sculpture that reflects the changing colours of the humble pin oak tree.
A total of 2500 aluminium spinners, all in different autumn hues, move in the breeze, so that the sculpture is constantly changing colour, as well as creating a sound of wind rushing through the trees.
The Snow family, who are developing the Denman Prospect estate, purchased the sculpture after Richard Snow saw the beginnings of it in Shine's studio.
"I had an exhibition at Grainger Gallery and they put on a lunch and invited lots of people and Richard Snow was one of them," Shine, 46, said.
"And he came to my studio a week or two later and I had a picture of it up and he saw it and said, 'What's that?' and 'This could be really good for what's going on at Denman'."
The idea for Everchange had first come to Shine, originally from England, in 2014, after his move to Canberra.
"I was actually on a walk with my wife around our suburb, and it was autumn and I saw all the leaves and the trees and the colour changes and I thought, 'That is really interesting, just as a pattern'," he said.
"Because it looks so beautiful when you see all the colours. I thought that would be amazing for a sculpture. That was back in 2014. So the idea has been sitting in my file for a long time and I've finally got the opportunity to do it, which is really amazing."
The piece has 2500 moving aluminium spinners that move with the breeze, changing the surface colour of the sphere.
"It was inspired by pin oak leaf which obviously changes through the seasons and it was the idea of using a mottled surface pattern as the basis of a sculpture, so it changes all the time," he said.
"There are actually 10,000 separate discs and they're all grouped together to form 2500 spinners. So it was quite a process to put them all together, in order, in the right colour combinations. They all spin and you get these mottled reds and greens and oranges and different patterns appearing."
Shine brought the idea to life with the help of Vert Design for the visual concept and Tilt Industries for the final design, engineering and fabrication.
"The spinning mechanism was by far the biggest challenge, but after testing almost 100 different samples over two years, we found a solution that was lightweight enough to spin in the wind and strong enough to withstand the varying Canberra climate," Shine said.
Shine is known for his dramatic works in tulle, but says he's always worked in a range of media.
"I still, over the years, have continued to make things in other materials, this being one of them," he said.
The sculpture is located near Cravens Creek, in an area that will be landscaped, with paths and an amphitheatre to be built.
"It was a brilliant experience working with Nick McDonald-Crowley, Bridget Bence and the Denman Prospect team. They have such a passion for place making and the role art has in that capacity and they went to great lengths to ensure this piece would be presented as elegantly as possible," Shine said.
"I'm delighted to finally see the piece in situ, and of course, very grateful to the Snow family for commissioning it as part of this great group of new sculptures at Denman Prospect."
