'The Genie' is located at Queen Victoria Park, Melbourne. It was commissioned by Melbourne City Council who wanted a children's play sculpture for the park opposite the National Gallery of Victoria. Created in 1973 by Tom Bass, the sculpture was modelled and carved into plaster then cast in bronze.
Tom Bass created a sculpture that he hoped children would interact with. The mythical creature combines a human-like face with a lion's body and bird wings. With stylized curls of fur on its body and feather-like indented shapes on the wings, the rhythmic patterned decoration is a textural delight.
The winged figure is mounted on a slightly raised platform in a pocket of open park land adjacent to busy St Kilda Road. With a location that is distant enough so that the noise of passing traffic becomes obscured, it's like you are stepping into the Genie's domain in which he presides over. He is a grounded, solid creature who cheekily smiles at passers-by.
A concave face with gentle eyes and a friendly grin, the fantastical form is the perfect height for children to crawl underneath, climb, sit and stand on. Its wings curve upwards to create perfect support when you recline upon it's back in the sunshine. The sculpture casts intricate shadow patterns on the ground, and is a source of endless imaginative possibilities.
One important question remains to be answered. Has the genie just landed or is he about to fly away?
