A Gold-Coast born-and-raised visual artist has been awarded the contract to design, manufacture, frame, and install tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of artworks in the future Dorsett hotel on the Gold Coast.
The hotel is part of the $400 million, 53-storey Dorsett hotel and apartments tower being developed by Destination Gold Coast Consortium – comprising The Star Entertainment Group, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, and Far East Consortium – and is set to open at The Star Gold Coast in early 2022.
With around 300 workers currently on-site, construction of the tower is well over halfway with concrete slabs poured and completed up to level 39, and the tower remains on track to top out in August this year.
The 13 art pieces – to be featured across the 13 floors of the 4.5-star hotel – consist of large-scale, sculptural abstract pieces inspired by the natural strengths of the Gold Coast including its golden beaches, the sun, and its scenic hinterland.
Emma Street Studio Director and Creative Director, Shayle Flesser, will deliver the collection. Ms Flesser has been operating the studio for more than five years but boasts more than 20 years’ experience as a practicing fine artist.
“It’s wonderful to see the high level of confidence being invested in the Gold Coast’s tourism industry and as a small business owner it’s even better to be able to benefit from that ripple effect especially in the challenging year that 2020 was for many small business owners,” Ms Flesser said.
“Up until five years ago when I moved to Brisbane, I had spent my whole life on the Gold Coast so I am really passionate about being given this opportunity to represent some of what my hometown has to offer within the walls of a globally-recognised hotel brand.”
“While my brick and mortar company today employs 10 people on-site, who will all be involved in the Dorsett hotel project, I am also fortunate to have forged some fantastic partnerships with additional local and interstate creative staff who are able to work offsite and remotely at this time,” she said.
“The art pieces for the Dorsett hotel are being designed to remind guests where they are staying and feel the local spirit of the Gold Coast while remaining true to the Dorsett brand.”
“They will bring forth the beautiful local features of this gorgeous coastal city in a subtle and artful way – they’ll be gold and silver leafed, heavily textured, and feature rhythmic and repetitive linework.”
Destination Gold Coast Consortium Project Director, Jaime Cali, said she was proud to award the artwork to a local artist and small business owner to continue supporting the local economy.
“We’re delighted to be working with Shayle and her team – they are a one-stop-shop for us with Shayle running her own framing factory underneath her studio and being able to deliver on all aspects of the artwork from design through to installation,” Ms Cali said.
“The Gold Coast is a stunning location and who better to be able to visually describe it to future visitors than someone who has grown up here and understands both the landscape and seascape.”
“Our brief to Shayle and her team was to capture snippets and experiences of the Gold Coast and interaction with the environment including the flow of the water at the beach, aerial tidal shapes of sand and water intersecting, and the rippling of sand and sunlight on water,” she shared.
“The 13 artworks will display a different sequence within the same series – almost as though they are a complete exhibition – and will have a similar theme using the same varied colour palette.”
Ms Flesser, who previously ran a large-scale commercial art gallery on the Gold Coast, has shown and sold artworks locally, throughout Australia, and overseas.
One of the Dorsett artwork prototypes with a 3D model of The Star Gold Coast including its new towers being built. Image courtesy of the Destination Gold Coast Consortium.
