The future is in your court: Reko Rennie installs public art piece at residential Southbank project

Developer Time & Place, in conjunction with Hickory, has commissioned renowned interdisciplinary artist Reko Rennie to create a bold public artwork on an inner-Melbourne basketball court.

Taking up residence on the team’s recently acquired Southbank site, the piece titled OA_Hardcourt is an extension of Rennie’s Visible Invisible series.

Located within the 84-90 Queensbridge Street development, ‘The Queensbridge Building’, the developers’ vision is to turn this underutilised space into an urban park to drive community spirit through sport, food and art.

The space will be open for budding basketballers to book free one-hour half-court sessions and shoot hoops on the art installation itself.

“I’m very honoured to create an artwork for the Underpark basketball court on the traditional lands of the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri people,” said Rennie.

The piece inverts the idea of camouflage, designed to celebrate the visible cultural identity of Indigenous peoples.

“Where in the past camouflage has been used to conceal, here it proudly reveals a strong and vibrant cultural history,” he continued. 

Through his art, Rennie explores his Aboriginal identity through innovative mediums, provoking discussion surrounding Indigenous culture in contemporary urban environments.

He is known for combining stylistic elements of graffiti with the iconography of his Kamilaroi heritage and brings his distinctive visual language to the court. 

Time & Place director, Tim Price sees this partnership as an improvement to the Southbank neighbourhood through informed cultural expression.

“We have followed Reko over the course of his career and see this collaboration as a meeting of two minds to achieve a single vision”, he said.

“Reko has produced a vibrant, daring piece of work that speaks to the culture for which our city is known.”

This court will be active for a limited time only, with Time & Place looking to open up a broader conversation about the future of Underpark and how it can best serve the surrounding community.

Located in the Crown precinct, the Queensbridge development will focus on activating the public space, with a strong focus on sustainability and design.

The group purchased the 940sqm landholding in an off-market transaction from New Sky Group at an estimated $29 million.