Henry Lawson

Weddin Shire Council

Gillie and Marc were commissioned by the Henry Lawson Festival Committee and Weddin Shire Council to create a life-sized statue of Henry Lawson to go into his birth town, Grenfell. The artists were given a strict eight-month timeframe and stuck to that for the 2014 unveiling and opening of the Henry Lawson Festival.

The artwork included a life-sized Henry Lawson sitting on a bench and included a light display. The artists were also keen to portray him as bohemian artist and troubled soul. They didn’t want him on a plinth, towering above people. Instead, a relaxed Lawson is poised, pen in hand on a park bench encouraging others to sit next to him and reflect on their surroundings.