‘When property owners have vision’: the artists bringing a derelict hotel back from the dead
A former sailors’ haunt has been reimagined by more than 40 creatives for the closing weekend of the Fremantle biennaleGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailMaking my way up a...
By Rosamund Brennan, photography by Tace Stevens · The Guardian Culture
A former sailors’ haunt has been reimagined by more than 40 creatives for the closing weekend of the Fremantle biennale Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Making my way up a creaky, carpeted staircase, I step into what feels like a different world – a building I’ve passed hundreds of times, yet never set foot in. I am standing on the first level of Fremantle’s former P&O hotel, and am immediately taken aback by its weathered, almost cinematic beauty: tall stained glass windows, dark timber mouldings and an iron-framed balcony peering over High Street like some forgotten lookout. First built about 1870 and renovated during the gold-rush era, for almost a century this building was a magnet for wharfies and crewmen, with its 31 rooms and a raucous sailors’ bar known as the Cockpit. But despite being in the centre of Fremantle’s busiest street, this historical relic has largely remained empty and off limits for decades. Left: Sculptural artist Abdul Rahman Abdullah’s work, In the name, draws on his childhood when the scarcity of halal meat brought animal slaughter and butchery into his family’s suburban backyard. Right: A chandelier forms part of his work Wednesday’s Child Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...