The Juggler

The Juggler, donated by Velislav Georgiev and Tor Roxburgh to 157 Inglis Street, Ballan as part of the 1,000 Weathervanes in Ballan Project. Copyright Velislav Georgiev, 2009.


Velislav and I make public art for a living. The work is interesting, sometimes it's exciting, and it's always challenging. But one of the oddities about making public art is that most public artists don't get to make whatever they feel like making - they make art to meet the brief they've been given by a local council or a corporation. In that sense, public artists are a bit like architects or a bit like those artists from the past who had patronage relationships with the church or with wealthy individual clients.

Making and donating windart weathervanes for the 1000 Weathervanes in Ballan project is a completely different experience. Velislav can make up his own brief and that might involve coming up with an idea to suit a particular building or a concept that suits the nature of a local business or a design that fits the character of an individual family. At that point a conversation begins between Velislav and the potential recipients or custodians of a piece of windart.

The Juggler is the first piece of donated windart to be installed in Ballan. It's designed to suit the family at 157 Inglis Street.

The juggler could be juggling commitments, but if he is there's no sign of strain. One ball is airborne and the juggler's face is still peaceful, even happy. The juggler could be walking across the stage or busking or performing on the street or participating in a festival. There's a sense of complexity and dexterity and balance, but there's also a sense of theatre and excitement and entertainment.


From this view you can see that one ball has already left the circle. It might return to the juggler's hand; it might not.
The Juggler, Copyright Velislav Georgiev, 2009.

I'm curious to see whether anyone in the street will notice this piece of windart. It's clearly visible from the pavement, but its position isn't quite as obvious as the next one's location will be.

If you hear about anyone noticing it or talking about it, leave a comment and let us know. You get some pretty wild comments about public art - positive and negative. And we like collecting them all.