"Shelter - A Timber Workers Hut" - Victorian Timber Workers Memorial
(Collaboration with Aaron Robinson)
Our concept for the Victorian Timber Workers Memorial responds to the hardships, triumphs, mateship and camaraderie within the timber community. Through visual storytelling using abstracted historical and contemporary images of mills, coups, logging trucks and the Victorian bush a ‘shelter’ of steel and timber will emerge. This shelter, reminiscent of a traditional mountain hut, acts as a symbol of protection and survival. It creates a retreat for contemplation and reflection, filtering the outside world through a natural canopy that entwines with the life of a hard working timber worker.
Within the confines of the shelter, a family member will have a place to sit and remember lost loved ones. The central feature of the hut is its fireplace, a place of warmth essential to survival but also a gathering place for family and friends. Above the fireplace is a wooden mantle a place for leaving small memento’s, pictures, flowers and a small shrine to humanity and happiness.
We feel it is imperative for a memorial to be positive as well as reflective. It should stand tall and proud in the community and uphold the values it represents. It should also have moments of solitude and contemplation where one can retreat in quite reflection. Above all this memorial will help to rejuvenate and support the community at large. We believe that the ‘Shelter’ is such a memorial and we sincerely hope that we are given the opportunity to make our small hut for the timber workers of Victoria and their families.