Karl Meyer – Nature is a teacher

Karl Meyer is an artist and designer specialising in public art. He originally studied industrial design in Adelaide before discovering a more creative outlet through exhibition design. It was here that Karl found a rewarding niche.

Story by Petra de Mooy.

‘Tracks’ 2016 – Mount Gambier – The adaptive reuse of discarded railway tracks provides a connection to Mount Gambier’s industrial past.

‘It is everything from idea through to the concept – then you move into digital and mechanical and physical but there is also psychology and it is all about conveyance of ideas,’ he says.

Soon Karl wanted to branch out further and so moved into public art – since 2009 he has had a very successful track record, completing numerous installations around Australia, including in Adelaide, Bondi, Mount Gambier, Townsville and Canberra.

In 1999, Karl and his partner bought a heritage listed property in Parawa. Their first child was on the way and they had made a conscious decision not to spend their ‘raising-a-family’ years in the city. The advert for this stunning, yet hard to reach property had a hand-drawn picture of a kangaroo and read, ‘if you want to own a four-wheel-drive tractor and like hard work …’ This piqued their interest and they were drawn to it. ‘Even finding the gate initially was a challenge,’ Karl says. For a few years they lived there part time in a yurt purchased from Mongolia. They worked on the property on weekends but with a third baby on the way, felt ready to move there permanently, which they did in 2005. By then they had built a beautiful home that was more family-friendly overlooking the valleys and ocean below.

‘There is a remoteness but there is also connection,’ reflects Karl. Their kids walk half a kilometre to get on a bus to school and the shops are only twenty to thirty minutes away. The drive up is a bit hairy but the rewards are great. Here the family lives very close to nature and the elements. The house is, of course, off grid but they live very comfortably with a large solar array, an orchard of fruit trees, free-range chickens and a healthy vegetable garden.

The lifestyle in this pristine wilderness has proved fruitful in other ways too. ‘Parawa and the Fleurieu provide considerable space for contemplation in nature and the marine environment,’ Karl says. He tells me he has always seen nature as being one of his best teachers and it has inspired much of his work and philosophical viewpoint.

‘Tidal’ 2018 – created for the theme ‘Landfall’ for the Lorne Sculpture Biennial.

‘Transition’ 2019 – created for the Heysen Sculpture Biennial.

Artist/designer – Karl Meyer.

Recently Karl has been lucky to be working closer to home. In 2019 he will install a public work at Cape Jervis. The sculptural piece will act as a reminder of the treacherous waters around the cape, with that stretch of coastline being littered with shipwrecks. The skeleton of a hull made of steel will be erected to create both a gateway and a shelter. It will also serve as a place of reflection. Karl was selected as an artist but also as a member of the community and worked through a lengthy process to embody the maritime nature of the coastline and its harshness. Last year he also won a public art competition for a Mainstreet Gateway art installation at Victor Harbor. ‘Elemental’ will add ‘vivid colour and connection to the core of the Victor Harbor region. The swirling forms will provide interpretations including water, birds, earth, air, plants and animals.’

Again, Karl has done due diligence on trying to create a piece that, in a way, peels back the layers of the place. The planned work attempts to encapsulate the natural beauty of the region that is anchored in a geological past formed by the striking Granite Island, the Bluff and spectacular Waitpinga cliffs.

Working on a large scale piece in a community space invites a feeling of ownership by the general public. Karl has shown great versatility, sensitivity and care in creating his work. His ability to respond to the unique nature of each site is honourable.