First there was the Blumbergville Clock and now there’s the Steaming Noisy Minor.

Both are the work of nationally recognised sculptor, Christopher Trotter, whose creative passion is to “source and join unrelated objects in a manner that appears perfectly plausible”. 

The Boonah-based artist describes his newest work for the Boonah Town Centre project as “an ode to the history of Boonah”. 

“It’s an artwork that references the history of the area including the railway line that ran through here,” he said.

“I played on the name Blumbergville too - I discovered that name on a plaque back in 2012 and I thought that’s such a crazy name, I thought it would be fun for it to come alive again. 

“I’ve done a few pieces around Boonah and they’ve all got a Blumbergville flavour which is a reference to the German history and sort of black-forest-magic -with-the-works, they’re not something from our reality but a parallel reality.” 

Mr Trotter’s Blumbergville Clock is an example of how he can repurpose disparate machinery parts into a working artform. 

“The Blumbergville Clock, is of course a functioning clock,” he said. 

“Its main noise is an exhaust whistle that goes off on the hour and is followed by the call of the Pobblebonk frog - the number of ‘bonks’ marks the time – at 8 o’clock there’s eight ‘bonks’, at 9 o’clock there’s nine ‘bonks’ and so on.”    

While the Steaming Noisy Minor won’t take off on tracks through Boonah, Mr Trotter says it serves a second purpose. 

“The main body of the work for Steaming Noisy Minor is two old stationary engines, which I’ve turned on their side and joined back to back to create this steaming rail contraption with mechanical smoke that’s pluming back down towards town,” he said.

“Boonah’s main street is one way and it’s sort of off to the side, so the artwork acts as a marker for people who are travelling through Boonah … an element to engage the public as they travel through and suggests they should turn down and have a look at the township. 

“It’s a cultural tourism promotional tool and it’s also a work you can stand next to and have your photo taken.”

Mr Trotter gathers the materials he uses for his artworks from both SimsMetal and locally. 

“I’ve been sponsored by SimsMetal, a recycling metal yard, for about thirty years,” he said. 

“But I also go to local swap meets and clearance sales to find material, so some of the materials would have actually worked the land in this area, it’s nice that these objects have a connection.”

Mr Trotter began his artistic career while studying architecture, coming from a bloodline of architects, he altered his craft to art but retained the structural mindset. 

“Architecture was very important, my father was an architect and I’ve got two brothers who are architects as well,” he said. 

“After leaving architecture, I found myself working with corrugated iron as well as looking through my father’s workshop for interesting objects.”

Mr Trotter found that he could keep the disciplines he enjoyed in architecture, while incorporating the freedom of creating art. 

“I did quite well in architecture and I loved design but I’ve always had that fascination and interest in machinery and I loved the architecture of objects. 

“So when you look at what I’m doing now, I’m not creating buildings but I am creating artworks for our built environment. 

“It’s really cool because in architecture I felt as though the design had been watered down too much with legislation, building requirements, clients, budget and all those things. 

“Now I can create things and I have control over the end result.” 

Mr Trotter said being able to create for the community he lived in meant not just giving the machinery a new life, but giving residents a new perspective on old mechanisms. 

“I feel what makes for a successful piece of artwork is one that evokes memories, so the objects that come from the community or shapes that were once used about the community are identifiable to a really broad cross section of the public,” he said. 

“It’s really nice making the works specific to a place and it creates a sense of ownership within the community and a connection to it.”