Standing at the Brighton Road entrance to Jetty Road is a 21-metre-long avenue of towering flowers. Some stretch five metres into the air. Others span nearly three metres wide. Together, they form Elysian Fields - an art-meets-science installation designed to stop people in their tracks and remind them they’ve arrived somewhere special.
Created by Melbourne-based art and science collective Skunk Control, this colourful new landmark is more than an entry statement. It’s an invitation to pause, explore, and feel a sense of wonder. “I like the idea of people stepping in, stopping and trying to figure out how it’s all working ... and then taking a step forward but stopping again to pause,” says Nick Athanasiou, founder of Skunk Control. “I like the idea of that pause.”
Nick is a scientist, teacher and artist. His work blends curiosity with creativity—bringing light, colour and physics together to tell stories that feel magical, even if they’re grounded in science.
For Elysian Fields, that magic lives in the petals themselves. While they may look like stained glass, they’re not. They’re made with stainless steel and optical filters that shift colour depending on the angle of light—just like butterfly wings.
“It’s nowhere near as sophisticated as how nature has created colour for millennia,” says Nick, “but it goes some way in creating vibrant and vivid colours.”
The result is a space that transforms throughout the day, depending on where the sun sits and the eyes of the person walking through. It’s bold. Joyful. Slightly surreal. And already stopping people for photos, questions and that moment of pause.
Elysian Fields is the second Skunk Control work to live at the Bay. You might remember 2022’s Light Tapestry - an arbour sculpture of colour-filtered petals nestled in Bouchee Walk. Like that work, Elysian Fields isn’t just art. It’s science. It’s education. It’s community. Skunk Control runs education programs to help young people see how light, colour and physics come to life through art—and some of Nick’s former students are now part of his creative team.
“If we can outreach to the community,” says Nick, “the community understands the work a little better, and it makes them feel like the work is part of their community - not just there in isolation.”
The flowers were installed this week and were adjusted to reflect light in the most interesting ways. Some petals cast reflections onto the Telstra building. Others create colourful shadows on the new footpaths. All of it plays a part in the recently completed upgrades to the City zone end of Jetty Road.
Holdfast Bay Mayor Amanda Wilson says she hopes Elysian Fields becomes a destination in itself - an iconic meet-up spot, like Adelaide’s Mall's Balls or the Beehive Corner.
“Glenelg now has Elysian Fields,” says Mayor Wilson. “And people are going to want to come from all over the state—and the country—to see and experience this artistic and architectural creation.”
It’s also a clever nudge for visitors to explore more of Jetty Road. While many hop off the tram and head straight to the beach, the new installation draws the eye (and the camera) toward the full length of the precinct, with over 300 local traders waiting to be discovered.
Want to see it for yourself?
Start your Glenelg day at the top of Jetty Road and walk through Elysian Fields as the sun hits. You’ll know you’ve arrived somewhere worth pausing for.
