Ballarat Empty Plinth Project

2026-2027
Intercultural Gardens, Ballarat, Victoria
Powder-coated steel

The sculpture is constructed from a series of layered, powder-coated steel frames. From a distance, these frames collectively form the silhouette of a lantern. As visitors move around the work, however, the form continuously changes. Lines overlap and separate; openings appear and disappear, and the surrounding landscape remains visible through the structure. The work has no single fixed viewpoint; it is intended to be experienced through movement.

Light, shadow and transparency are central to the sculpture. Its open framework allows sunlight to pass through the work and cast shifting shadows across the plinth and surrounding ground. The red and gold layers move visually in and out of alignment, creating a sense of depth while allowing the sculpture to remain porous to its setting. In this way, the lantern is understood not as a closed object containing light, but as a structure through which light, landscape and people can pass.

My architectural practice strongly informed the development of the work. The sculpture was considered simultaneously as an image, an object and a small piece of spatial infrastructure. Its layered construction, structural rhythm, relationship to the existing plinth and changing experience from different viewpoints were developed through drawing, modelling, engineering and fabrication.

The project involved close collaboration across community consultation, design development, structural engineering, fabrication, powder coating and installation. The final work is therefore the result of many forms of knowledge and labour coming together—echoing the broader idea behind 万家灯火: many individual contributions forming something collective.

Myriad of Lights 万家灯火 is a public sculpture created for the Intercultural Gardens in Ballarat as part of the City of Ballarat’s Empty Plinth Program.

The work draws inspiration from the history of Chinese migration to Ballarat during the gold rush and the generations of Chinese communities who have contributed to the social, cultural and economic life of the city. The sculpture uses the form of a lantern as a vessel for ideas of journey, resilience, belonging, contribution, and hope.

The design was developed through conversations with members of Ballarat’s Chinese community. These discussions became an important part of the project, driving the design toward a tradition of southern Chinese lanterns 花灯 — associated with celebration, gathering, and light. The community also encouraged a red-and-gold palette and a stronger emphasis on the lantern as a positive symbol of illumination and welcome.

The title, Myriad of Lights 万家灯火, extends this idea beyond a single lantern. The Chinese phrase evokes the image of countless lights glowing from homes at night: individual households becoming part of a larger collective landscape. Within the context of Ballarat, the title speaks to the many lives, journeys and cultural histories that together form a shared city.

Situated within the Intercultural Gardens, Myriad of Lights acknowledges Chinese heritage while speaking to a wider experience of migration and belonging. It reflects on how cultural identity can remain recognisable while continuing to change, adapt and become part of a new place.

At its heart, the work is a gesture of light: a recognition of those who came before, those who continue to shape Ballarat today, and the many stories that together illuminate a shared home.

Commissioned by: City of Ballarat
Program: Empty Plinth Program
Supported by: Multicultural Arts Victoria
Fabrication and installation: Trevilla Engineering & Design
Engineering: TGL Engineering Group