Leading out-of-home media company JCDecaux has today announced that it has donated parts from around 100 of its CityCycle bicycles to Metro Arts to create five unique art installations to be showcased during the Brisbane Festival.
The CityCyle scheme has now ended, and hundreds of bike parts, including complete bikes, chains, handlebars and bike wheels, will be repurposed by five local artists with expertise in found materials for Metro Arts’ ‘The Mechanics of Adaption’ exhibition, running from 3 to 26 September as part of the Brisbane Festival.
JCDecaux chief executive officer, Steve O’Connor, said the initiative directly aligned with the company’s sustainability strategy and its ongoing commitment to the Brisbane community.
“Although our iconic CityCycles will disappear from Brisbane’s streets, the people of Brisbane will still get to enjoy the bikes in a different way, as part of an innovative art installation and exhibition. At JCDecaux we are committed to sustainability and giving back to the community, so I was delighted to donate hundreds of bike parts to be reimagined for this art project by Metro Arts, which also supports the amazing work of Traction with young people,” O’Connor said.
JCDecaux’s CityCycle project launched in Brisbane in 2010, providing 2,000 bikes, 3,450 bike docks and 150 parking stations across the CBD and inner-city suburbs as part of the city’s sustainability and environmental initiatives.
Civic Cabinet Chair for transport Cr Ryan Murphy, who oversaw the CityCyle scheme during its tenure said: “CityCycle played a big part in Brisbane’s embrace of active transport and shared mobility. I’m glad the bikes are being reimagined through art, paying homage to the scheme. Brisbane Festival is quintessentially ‘Brisbane’ and these CityCycle art installations will fit right in.”
The main large art installation will be featured outdoors on Mollison Green at West Village.
Metro Arts CEO and creative director, Jo Thomas said: “JCDecaux approached us with the idea of donating bike parts for a project which inspired this new exhibition ‘Mechanics of Adaption’. As part of the project, some of Brisbane’s hottest, contemporary artists have been working with students from The Sycamore School, a school for children on the autism spectrum, in workshops run by Traction, a non-profit organisation focused on building the confidence of vulnerable young people.”
Jeremy Vary, JCDecaux’s Head of Operations who oversaw the CityCycle scheme since its inception, said: “After ten successful years, we are sad to see the iconic CityCyle bikes leaving the streets of Brisbane. However, we are delighted they’re being commemorated in such an incredible way thanks to the artists of Metro Arts.”
The Mechanics of Adaption is on display at Metro Arts and West Village from 3–26 September as part of Brisbane Festival.
Featured Image: Courtesy of the artist and Milani Gallery. The artwork in the image is: Orange Reflector Field
Hung on the wall like a painting, Orange Reflector Field is composed of hundreds of bicycle spoke reflectors that, arranged in a loose grid, create a sparkling swathe of orange. The work’s title is a playful nod to Colour Field painting, a mid-twentieth century style of abstraction characterised by large areas of a single colour. Here though, rather than the variations in the colour reflecting the gestures of the artist and their brushstrokes, the work’s ever-shifting shades of orange are defined by the movements of the viewer and changes in the ambient light.
