We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of New South Wales stands.

Francis Upritchard

Welcome Plaza featuring Francis Upritchard 'Here Comes Everybody' 2022, Art Gallery of New South Wales

Welcome Plaza featuring Francis Upritchard Here Comes Everybody 2022, Art Gallery of New South Wales

Here Comes Everybody 2022

The fantastical is at the heart of the Welcome Plaza of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new building with the arrival of Francis Upritchard’s towering figures, inspired by mythology, folklore and the surrounding Moreton Bay fig trees. Enticing visitors of all ages, Upritchard’s playful bronze beings are workers, collaborators, creators and guardians who, in the artist’s words, ‘ready your mind to be receptive to anything’.

  • K–6 discussion questions

    • Look at Here Comes Everybody. Who are these towering beings? Where did they come from and what are they doing? What do you think they’re saying to each other?

    • Imagine touching these sculptures. Do you think they’re smooth or rough, soft or hard? Write a list of words to describe how they would feel.

  • K–6 activities

    • Look closely at each figure and describe what you see. Write a story about a day in the life of one of these bronze beings. Why have they come together under the canopy of the Art Gallery? Develop a play, compose music or write a poem about your story and present this to the class.

    • Research Moreton Bay fig trees. What is their botanical name? Write down words to describe the way they look. Upritchard used these trees as inspiration for her sculptures. Can you see this inspiration? Create an artwork of your own character based on Moreton Bay fig trees.

    • Upritchard always works in three dimensions, ‘sketching’ in clay to form her ideas for artworks. What are the advantages of this process? Working only in clay, form your own idea for an artwork. Think about how the clay feels and forms shapes. Experiment with height and balance. How is this approach different from sketching ideas on paper? What process do you prefer and why?

  • 7–12 discussion questions

    • The Art Gallery commissioned Upritchard to create an artwork for its welcome plaza. Here Comes Everybody is her response. How does this work welcome audiences to the Art Gallery? How does it respond to the landscape and history of the site? Discuss the idea of a meeting place and art’s function within such a space.

    • To create Here Comes Everybody, Upritchard made three bronze models, or bozzettos, in preparation for the full-scale sculptures. Each of these bozzettos was created at a different scale. The first was at 1:20 scale (knee height), the second at 1:5 (waist height) and the third at 1:1 (full scale). Why do you think Upritchard works in this way? Think about how scale affects textures, shapes and meanings.

  • 7–12 activities

    • Ask a friend to pose in an interesting position. Model this figure in clay by observing the shape of the body and its movement. Resolve the composition and structure in three dimensions without working from drawings or other two-dimensional images. Allow your thumbprints and finger marks to remain as texture and a trace of the artist.

    • Is there a natural meeting place at your school entrance? Create a maquette for a sculpture that could be installed to welcome – or surprise – school visitors. Consider the environment and how your site-specific artwork responds to place.