The latest addition to the $3.6 billion Queens Wharf development’s collection of public art will be a five-tonne, near five metre tall bronze sculpture of what has been called a “goddess-like figure” named Sheila by her creator, Justene Williams.

Brisbane-based Williams said she took her inspiration for Sheila from her daughter’s fascination with toy figurines.

“My daughter is interested in superheroes and loves her plastic figurines, so I took that and gave the sculpture gravitas,” Williams said.

“I love to go big so this will be a giant monument to the female form.”

While most readers would associate the name Sheila with the ocker Australian term for a woman, Williams said it was also used to describe the female character carved in stone in Europe in the 11th century and was linked to fertility and empathy.

She said the finished sculpture would also feature a stainless-steel halo “that is open to interpretation and self-reflection”.

“The average person will see a big woman in a horse-stance with one arm open and the other closed fisted; some people may giggle at the busty representation but I’m hoping everyone will stop and look.”

One of four public artworks announced so far for the development, Sheila will stand at the Queen’s Wharf Plaza on the riverside of the existing Commissariat Store.

The first work, announced in February, will be an eight-metre high, eight tonne bronze sculpture by internationally renowned artist Lindy Lee, to sit at the George Street entrance of the resort.

Others include a supersized mosaic wall mural of Australian lungfish by local artist Samuel Tupou, and an interactive digital light installation for The Printery Office by husband-and-wife team Alinta Krauth and Jason Nelson.

Institute of Modern Art director Liz Nowell, who is on the development’s Specialist Artistic Advisory panel, likened Sheila to a “towering goddess-like figure”.

“I like to think of her being the guardian of the Plaza, who will watch over the millions of visitors to Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, including for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Nowell said.

“The Arts panel felt she was a figure that everyone could relate to, from children to adults, as there is something playful about her, but her stance is empowered and impactful.”