Geoffrey Wilson trained as a painter and printmaker at the South Australian School of Art (SASA) between 1946 and 1948. During the same period, he enrolled in a secondary Art Teachers course at Adelaide Teacher’s College (ATC). The principal of the ATC commissioned this work for the college’s Kintore Avenue building.
The College remained an Adelaide landmark until its transformation in 1973 into the Adelaide College of Advanced Education, which later merged with the South Australian Institute of Technology to become the University of South Australia in 1991.
The mosaic represents the strong link between education and progress.
In the words of the artist, it symbolises ‘the growth of the infant to adulthood, guided by parents and teachers, and the progress of humanity from ignorance to an understanding and acceptance of higher values … In short, it depicts education as a cultural and moral force in society.’
Wilson, who taught in schools in Australia and the United Kingdom before becoming a senior lecturer in SASA’s Fine Art Department, had experienced first-hand the power of this force.
The glass mosaic tiles were manufactured in Italy but assembled in South Australia before being mounted on the outer wall of the Madley Theatre. When the Madley Theatre was renovated in 2003, the mosaic was restored and relocated to the forecourt of the Napier building. In this location, its retro form complements the 1960s modernist architecture.
Inspired by photographs of stained-glass works and post-war architectural forms, this work is the only public artwork by Wilson. It is markedly different from the rest of his artistic output, which largely comprises paintings of South Australian landscapes.
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