The mystique of environmental art works is particularly evident in a work in the South Australian Outback near Lake Eyre and the township of Marree. The Marree Man is the largest known geoglyph in the world and, contrasting the prominent works in the American desert, it was first discovered by chance by a tourist to the area named Trec Smith in 1998, rather than publicly planed, commissioned and executed.
Mystery of the Marree Man
The Marree Man was shrouded in mystery and it was not until almost 10 years after its creation that the work was attributed to Bardius Golberg, based on the statements of his close friends, although he never claimed the work himself and who died several years after is creation. Interestingly, the mystery surrounding this image has generated much attention from conspiracy theorists and frequently appears on UFO websites like UFO Research Queensland, or UFOlogie, and it is the largest environmental artwork in Australia.
The Worlds Largest Geoglyph
The 4.2km-long figure of the Marree Man spans over 28km in circumference, and depicts an Aboriginal hunter, possibly from the Pitjantjatjara people, indigenous to the region. It was beleived to be carved using GPS coordinates and a bulldozer, or plow pulled by a tractor, to carve a 20 to 30 cm (8 – 12 inch) deep track, to the extent that it can only really be seen from the air, or through initiatives like Google Earth and the satellite pictures taken of the earth surface.
The Fading of the Marree Man
The image, though immense, is subject to the weather and has gradually faded, however there have been some attempts to preserve the image for future generations, as it has generated tourism for the surrounding Outback townships including Marree, the town it was named after and the Lake Eyre District. It also appears on virtual tourism websites like Google Sightseeing.
Reflection of Other Environmental Artworks
The Marree Man reflects other instances of environmental art that are not ecologically conscious and could be considered as bringing large-scale environmental art full circle as it carves into the landscape, using the same kinds of machinery as Artists like Michael Heizer did in Double Negative, 1968, almost 30 years before.
References
- Kissell, Joe. 2006, ‘Mystery artwork in the desert‘
- 1998, "Desert figure carves out a giant mystery: Christopher Zinn in Sydney on Marree Man, a three-mile long drawing in the Outback sands." Guardian [London, England] 15.
- Williams, Matt. 2007, "Marree Man mystery not solved", The Advertiser
Jade Wildy - Jade Wildy is an art theorist and historian based in Australia and has completed a Masters of Art History and Bachelor of Art.
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