This Malu Githalayl artwork is part of a ground-breaking exhibition of contemporary art, Australie/Australia: Defending the Oceans at the Heart of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Art, which was seen by over 500,000 visitors during its season in Monaco.

Utilising the traditional incised design seen in Torres Strait Islander lino prints, Robinson has created three vibrantly colourful crabs, titled Malu Githalayl, which were featured on the historic museum’s façade. The crabs operated as the opening statement to the larger exhibition and as a teaser to draw audiences in to see it.

Each crab (or githalai) explores the symbols of Robinson’s ancestral connections to the coastal fauna found through the regions’ mangrove areas, foreshore, estuaries, and outer barrier reef.

Tilt was involved in design development, engineering, and manufacturing of this artwork.

“We received conceptual renders from CREATIVEMOVE from which we created detailed 3D computer models – the models were then utilised to produce 2D manufacturing drawings,” explained Tim Phillips, Managing Director of Tilt.

“We elected to use the honeycomb aluminium panel for the body structure due its light weight and high strength characteristics – as the crabs are to be attached to the façade they will be subject to very high wind loads and as such require a material selection with advanced properties.”

The crabs undertook a structural engineering review to ensure they could withstand the elements. Tilt developed an innovative clamping method to secure the crabs to the columns in order to minimise impact on the structure.

“The legs of the crabs are articulated so as to provide flexibility in the design whereby each crab was able to be orientated and adjusted to achieve a very specific position on the columns,” said Tim.

The crabs were designed to ‘flat-pack’ to minimise crate sizes for air freight – a mode of transport which was required to meet the tight turnaround time of fewer than 12 weeks.

An installation guide using the design files was developed by Josh Abel (“The Artificial”) to support local crews on the ground with the installation.

For more information on Malu Githalal, by Brian Robinson, visit: http://www.creativemove.com.au/news/malu-githalal/