Posted June 22, 2017 13:37:15

If you've ever sat and watched badminton, you'll know what I mean when I say there is something artistic about the sport.

Players prancing around a small court, thrashing their racquets at what looks like a white tuft of feathers that, despite no matter how hard it's hit, twists and floats its way gracefully back over the net.

So, it's no surprise that organisers of this week's Australian Badminton Open in Sydney commissioned a series of artworks to be installed in the venue, to enrich the event experience for fans and help them engage with the sport in different way.

"I just wanted to give them a different perspective to it," tournament director Loke Poh Wong said.

"Perhaps to appreciate the game in a different form. One of the key elements to our game is the shuttlecock.

"Not many people know there are 16 feathers and how they are all strewn together and how they can create such a fast smash.

"The speed of the game and the variety of shots that you can create in our game means you have to have a lot of attributes to be a good player."

Badminton Australia enlisted the services of Sydney-based artist Kimberley Peel to help achieve their vision, who admits she was surprised when she was first approached.

"I thought it was a little bit random, but I was really interested in what they were trying to do," Peel said.

"For me personally this was a new experience. I think it's great to try and draw communities together and to really engage with how creativity can help a sport move along."

Peel spent weeks leading up to the event working with thousands of used shuttlecocks collected from various Australian clubs. She has strung them together to create the sculpture.

"When I did research, the first step for me was looking on YouTube at the way players moved and the way the shuttlecock moved as they hit it," Peel said.

"Obviously there is really that floating action and also something that is really forceful and strong. So the challenge was to capture that within a sculpture."

Badminton has been played since the 19th century and is immensely popular across Asia. It made its debut as an Olympic sport in 1992 and has enjoyed a higher profile ever since.

In Australia, the sport remains on the fringes but with unique initiatives like this, it's bound to reach new fans.

This week's Australian Open in Sydney is one of the 12 Super Series events play around the world.

"This year we have got the best of the best here," Poh Wong said.

"Based on previous years we get 10,000 to 15,000 through the week and will be broadcast to over 200 million households across the world."

The tournament is being staged at Sydney's Olympic Park and will run until Sunday.

Topics: sport, badminton, arts-and-entertainment, sydney-2000