Blue Mantle

Installed in 2013 to mark Radford College’s 30th anniversary, Blue Mantle is a sculptural installation by renowned Canberra artist Robert Foster. Commissioned by the Radford Collegians’ Association as a gift to the College, the sculpture was installed in the 10-metre-high void of the Mackinnon Senior School.

The Senior School precinct was officially opened by former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO on 26 October 2013, and the inclusion of Blue Mantle provided a symbolic centrepiece linking Radford's educational ideals to a broader global perspective.

Representing the Earth, the sculpture has a diameter of 1.8 metres and is formed from 180 anodised steel pieces, each cut from data drawn from nearly 100,000 topographical points. Foster said, ‘The methods used in composing the work were chosen to enhance the fragile and miraculous nature of our world: a mantle suspended in space, which can be looked through to the real world that surrounds us.’

Foster's designs are held in major collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Tragically, Robert Foster died in a car accident in 2016. Blue Mantle remains a tribute to his creative legacy and a reminder of 'the sheer miraculous nature of our home and the importance we all share in looking after it.'