Materials: Steel, woven steel mesh, rusted steel bands and fabricated steel components.
About the Art
The Stuart Highway Fence is a major public artwork that marks the edge of the Alice Springs CBD while reflecting the significance of the Stuart Highway and adjacent railway corridor. The artwork features a distinctive abstract band generated from a scanned map of the Stuart Highway between Port Augusta and Darwin, incorporating references to major towns and intersections along the route.
Designed to be experienced in motion, the work changes according to the viewer's mode of travel. From a vehicle, the central band appears to bounce and shift through the landscape; from a bicycle, it presents a flowing visual rhythm; and for pedestrians, it creates a human-scaled horizon line with framed views beyond. Through this interaction with movement and time, the artwork captures the dynamic nature of travel through Central Australia.
This artwork was commissioned by the Northern Territory Government (NTG).
About the Inspiration
The artwork draws inspiration from the many forms of movement that have shaped life in Central Australia, both historically and today. It references the journeys of Traditional Owners across Country, Indigenous cultural mapping traditions and songlines, early explorers, the Overland Telegraph Line, rail travel, freight transport and contemporary travel between remote communities and Alice Springs.
By transforming a map of the Stuart Highway into an abstract visual language, the artwork celebrates connection, travel and shared experience. It acknowledges the highway as both a physical route and a cultural thread linking communities, stories and landscapes across Australia.
Source: Adapted from information published by Stuart Dugdale Architects, Stuart Highway Fence (https://www.dugdale.com.au/highway-fence).
📷Image / Photo Source: Project article, Susan Dugdale & Associates
📍Ciccone (fence adjacent to Stuart Hwy)