Photos - Collections - Hyperart Thomasson

Our interest was sparked by an article by Tim Barlass "Bridge to nowhere : The Sydney relics whose purposes are lost to time"
and a follow up article "Unearthed relics of Sydney and a few hungry trees: readers go hunting"

"We are talking Thomassons, more fully Hyperart Thomasson or Chogeijutsu Tomason, a type of conceptual art named by Japanese artist Akasegawa Genpei in the 1980s. It refers to a useless structure, piece of architecture or relic that has been preserved and has become a piece of art in its own way. They didn't start out as conceptual art but have morphed into something that is viewed as such. Sydney's full of them. There's some 20 different categories of Thomasson."

The Useless Staircase
Dawes Point
Georges Heights

The Useless Doorway
Clifton Gardens
Curl Curl

The Elevated Type
St Peters

The Uyama- A sign or hoarding with letters missing
Castle Cove
Spelling
Spelling

The Castella - A cuboid protuberance from a wall
Moore Park

The Live Burial - A roadside object which is partly submerged in concrete
Barangaroo

The Boundary - A guardrail, fence or wall whose purpose is not immediately clear
North Parramatta
North Parramatta

The Devouring Tree - A tree which absorbs part of a fence or wire whilst still growing
Chippendale
Kurraba Point

The Useless Bridge
Liverpool
Silverwater
Sydney

Evaporation - The fading of color on a sign, or a monument with parts missing
Mount Colah
Port Botany

(End of Collections | Thomasson)