Each year Council engages emerging artists to create installations that celebrate Valentines Day. These artworks are installed at the following locations across the City:


2025

New artworks are coming soon!

Ariella Friend

Ariella Friend

@ariellafriend

  • Locations:

    • Five Dock: Fred Kelly Place, Great North Road
    • Concord: Peter Woods Place, junction of Majors Bay Road and Jellicoe Street

ARTIST STATEMENT

Love Language Of Flowers

On Valentine’s Day we express our affection and positive feelings to those we care about through our words and actions. What if nature could do the same for us?

In this work Love Language Of Flowers, the flowering plants found growing within the local Canada Bay Council area will send their own Valentine’s messages to the local community and visitors. The sculptural words ‘LOVE’ and ‘HUGS’ containing abstracted floral images will create colourful, playful and uplifting moments.

In this way, the works will help create meaningful connections between the local community and highlight the importance of our connections to the natural world around us.


Chris Smith

Chris Smith@art_chrissmith

@art_chrissmith

  • Locations:

    • Drummoyne: Formosa Street Shared Space

ARTIST STATEMENT

Threads of the Heart

Threads of the Heart depicts the nature, types and intricacy of love. Red symbolises love for a partner – complex, passionate, supportive and romantic. The smaller heart within represents the unconditional, nurturing love for children – from birth through to toddler, primary and teenage years leading to adulthood. The multicolour threads display play, light, growth, change and the future. Pink depicts the relationship of the extended family, warm and comforting. Orange threads encompass friendships, different dynamics and places of formation. Watermelon shades symbolise pets and their unique place in our heart.

The multifaceted pieces of love are all valuable, threaded together and intertwined.


Fe Heffernan

Fe Heffernan


  • Locations:

    • Drummoyne: Formosa Street Shared Space

ARTIST STATEMENT

Tables of Love: A Shared Experience

Valentine’s Day is traditionally a celebration of connection, love, and intimacy, but for many, these celebrations can often be inaccessible.

Tables of Love invites everyone — regardless of ability — to experience the shared joy and warmth of this day through tactile engagement and Braille.

I have created two interconnected tables, each embedded with Braille inscriptions, affirmations, and tactile patterns. These elements invite interaction through touch, enabling individuals to experience friendship, and unity, whether they are sighted or not.

The tables are not merely functional, they are an invitation to actively engage in the sensory experience of love. By incorporating tactile surfaces and Braille, I seek to create an inclusive environment where love can be felt and understood through touch, transforming the table — a familiar symbol of gathering — into a shared space for all.

Through this work, I aim to break down the barriers that can exclude individuals with visual impairments or different sensory needs, offering a tangible and meaningful experience that speaks to the core of what Valentine’s Day represents: connection, inclusivity, and the celebration of love in all its forms.

Yanni Pounartzis

Yanni Pounartzis

@yanni_pounartzis

  • Locations:

    • Rhodes: Union Square
    • North Strathfield: 93, Queen Street

ARTIST STATEMENT

I love you and always will – your secret admirer

Love is a universal language, and for Valentine’s Day, I aimed to celebrate this by showcasing anonymous love messages in a variety of languages. I chose a simple, classic message: “I love you and always will – your secret admirer”, designed in shades of red, pink, and other warm hues.

These messages were printed on stickers and placed along the bench slats. Drawing from local demographic data, I selected languages that reflected the area’s diverse ancestry. For example, in Rhodes, the dominant languages are English, Chinese, Korean, and Arabic, whilst North Strathfield also features Nepali and Italian. The result is an inclusive and heartfelt display that resonated with the community’s cultural fabric, adding a personal touch to the celebration of love.