Night watch

In 2012, Michael Grant was invited by the Australian Army to create a body of work in response to the closing of Fort Queenscliff, Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. He was there during the final months of the Fort operating as a military base. The Fort has a 152-year history as an Australian coastal defence. This work represents the contribution of service personnel from some 200 military units associated with the Fort since the 1860s. In Grant's own words: "The Fort has been standing guard over the entrance to Port Phillip Bay for 152 years and there has been only brief moments in its history when the Fort had fired its guns in anger. The Fort never reached its full potential as a defensive structure. As a result I chose to focus the artwork to reflect the main function of the Fort, which was to keep constant watch for any potential threat. Watching, either to the heads of the bay or to the skies above."