Yananurala – Sitelines and Conversations
Oyster forms along the harbour foreshore encourage connection with Country, and the continuous living culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Curator: Emily McDaniel
Artwork description
Curated by Emily McDaniel, Sitelines and Conversations is the first Yananurala project to be realised on the Sydney Harbour foreshore.
Following an open call-out for submissions, Lucy Simpson, a Sydney based Yuwaalaraay woman from north-western NSW, was selected to create a series of sculptural forms that will take you on a journey from Wallamool (Woolloomooloo) to Pirrama (Pyrmont).
Large, abstracted forms, depicting the mud flat oyster, Ostrea angasi once prevalent around Sydney Harbour, will be located along the water edge. They encourage a sense of discovery, to take a moment and connect – with your surroundings, with each other, and with the continuous living culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Through their placement and arrangement, along with accompanying soundscapes, these works will tell stories of community connection, resilience and stewardship. The use of audio overlays will enhance the experience of being on Country, bringing to life the rich narratives of the harbour, continuing relationships and its coastline connections, further immersing visitors in the cultural and social heritage of the sites.
At its heart, Sitelines and Conversations is a celebration of Country, story, and relationships. It is about continuing ways of knowing and relating to Country. It provides an invitation to connect through interactive and integrated experiences and speaks to the philosophies and systems inherent in Indigenous design.
The Yananurala project is part of our long-standing Eora Journey: Recognition in the public domain program, which includes a series of major public artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.
This work is being developed in consultation with local Aboriginal communities and project partners Placemaking NSW, Infrastructure NSW, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and Sydney Opera House.
– Lucy Simpson, Yuwaalaraay artist/designer
Artist
Grounded in and guided by the timeless and sophisticated philosophies of Indigenous design, Lucy Simpson’s Wangal / Sydney based multi-disciplinary practice connects to narratives of Country through function, materiality and transfer; through a wide range of applications spanning commercial, conceptual and community-based projects, and collaborations across a wide range of media.
A graduate of UNSW Art and Design and current PhD candidate at the University of Technology Sydney, both Lucy's creative practice and research focus on the continuing role of Indigenous design as a tool and conduit to baayangalibiyaay / interconnected notions of wellbeing (people and place).
