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Lost Buildings of Ipswich, Sharon Billinge and Karla Hayes, Bottle Alley, Ipswich, installed 2023
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Creator Details
TitleLost Buildings of Ipswich, Sharon Billinge and Karla Hayes, Bottle Alley, Ipswich, installed 2023Date CreatedInstalled 2023ArtistSharon BillingeKarla HayesAcknowledgementIpswich Art Gallery
Location
Description
DescriptionSimplified mural in blue and yellow of historical buildings.
Artist StatementWhen considering the theme ‘Lost Buildings of Ipswich’ we immediately thought of the layers of development, longing, memory, fleeting personal histories and half-forgotten stories that colour cities, particularly the vibrant central business district that surrounds Bottle Alley.
As evocative as memories of Ipswich's lost buildings are, these recollections rarely occur in high-definition clarity. Instead, we recall fragments of buildings and faces, collages of light, sound and fading moments in days past.
Our painted depiction of Ipswich's built environment aims to be a dreamlike recollection, blurring foreground and background and creating transitions between buildings, streets and moments in time that swell and bloom. We constructed a narrative around the lost buildings that had momentum and flow despite the narrative subject being a seemingly static and inert built environment.
We wanted to give viewers a sense of immediate history. Not far from the mural site, they could stand where the buildings featured in the mural once stood.
The design features five historical buildings that were close to Bottle Alley but are now no more. We’ve provided a mix of different sketches that use the same key locations:
Whitehouse Cafe
Street scene showing the Nicholas St covered entrance to Bottle Alley and the Central Hotel
Rockman building, formerly Fleischmanns
Waltons Building, formerly the Beirne building
Street scene showing a view of Nicholas St in the 1950s including the Bottle Alley side of Nicholas Street and the Central Chambers building
Hoopers Store
These buildings were significant fixtures of Ipswich’s city culture and commercial history. Our historical research was completed through Picture Ipswich.
We have included large native flora and fauna to create visual interest and give viewers a break from the angular elements. We included local Ipswich flora and fauna including Plunkett Mallee, Black-necked Stork and a Ficus.
Additional InformationOwner: Ipswich City Council
Project Manager / Curator: iAM ProjectsReferences (online)Karla Hayes [accessed 05/06/2026]
Artist StatementWhen considering the theme ‘Lost Buildings of Ipswich’ we immediately thought of the layers of development, longing, memory, fleeting personal histories and half-forgotten stories that colour cities, particularly the vibrant central business district that surrounds Bottle Alley.
As evocative as memories of Ipswich's lost buildings are, these recollections rarely occur in high-definition clarity. Instead, we recall fragments of buildings and faces, collages of light, sound and fading moments in days past.
Our painted depiction of Ipswich's built environment aims to be a dreamlike recollection, blurring foreground and background and creating transitions between buildings, streets and moments in time that swell and bloom. We constructed a narrative around the lost buildings that had momentum and flow despite the narrative subject being a seemingly static and inert built environment.
We wanted to give viewers a sense of immediate history. Not far from the mural site, they could stand where the buildings featured in the mural once stood.
The design features five historical buildings that were close to Bottle Alley but are now no more. We’ve provided a mix of different sketches that use the same key locations:
Whitehouse Cafe
Street scene showing the Nicholas St covered entrance to Bottle Alley and the Central Hotel
Rockman building, formerly Fleischmanns
Waltons Building, formerly the Beirne building
Street scene showing a view of Nicholas St in the 1950s including the Bottle Alley side of Nicholas Street and the Central Chambers building
Hoopers Store
These buildings were significant fixtures of Ipswich’s city culture and commercial history. Our historical research was completed through Picture Ipswich.
We have included large native flora and fauna to create visual interest and give viewers a break from the angular elements. We included local Ipswich flora and fauna including Plunkett Mallee, Black-necked Stork and a Ficus.
Additional InformationOwner: Ipswich City Council
Project Manager / Curator: iAM ProjectsReferences (online)Karla Hayes [accessed 05/06/2026]
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Asset Details
Reference IDHAYES_Karla_BILLINGE_Sharon-Lost_Buildings_of_Ipswich-2023-Bottle_Alley_Ipswich (1)TypeMuralMaterialsAcrylic paintMethodologyPaintedCopyright StatusIn CopyrightCopyright NoticeThis work is protected by the Copyright Act 1968.
Please contact Picture Ipswich if you wish to reproduce this image.
CopyrightPicture Ipswich Copyright Information
Please contact Picture Ipswich if you wish to reproduce this image.
CopyrightPicture Ipswich Copyright Information
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Copyright
This work is protected under the Copyright Act 1968
This work was created after 1st January 1955. It is protected by the Copyright Act 1968. Copyright duration is for the life of the creator plus 70 years.
The creator retains ownership of the copyright of this work. The creator has granted Picture Ipswich a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use and reproduce this work.
Under the Fair Dealing exception of the Copyright Act 1968, you can use this work for research or study, criticism or review, and parody or satire. Moral rights remain and the work MUST be correctly attributed to its creator (photographer, studio, author, etc.) with acknowledgement of Picture Ipswich as the source of the work.
You CANNOT use this work for any other purpose (including redistribution on social media platforms) without seeking permission first.
For more information, or if you require a higher resolution copy of this work, please contact Picture Ipswich.
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Lost Buildings of Ipswich, Sharon Billinge and Karla Hayes, Bottle Alley, Ipswich, installed 2023. Picture Ipswich, accessed 16/09/2026, https://www.pictureipswich.com.au/nodes/view/45765