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Embedded into the foreshore, this terrazzo work honours the importance of Indigenous people in Sydney.
Artist: Brenda L. Croft
Curator: Sally Couacaud
Curator: Sally Couacaud
The artist has updated the name of the work from Wuganmagulya to Wahganmuggalee following her research about names and language during conservation works.
Artwork description
On the foreshore promenade in the Royal Botanic Garden, between the gardens and the sea, lies Brenda L Croft’s Wahganmuggalee (Farm Cove). Commissioned as part of the Sydney Sculpture Walk for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, this large terrazzo work is embedded into the paving, crafted in muted colours that reflect the natural elements of the environment around it.
This artwork honours the presence and importance of Aboriginal people in this part of Australia, both throughout history and today.
In 2 sections of the pathway, Croft has used terrazzo and stained concrete to depict figures from Sydney Aboriginal rock carvings – some of which no longer exist. Along the pathway kerb, she has etched in red the names of women and men, places, animals, tools and rituals from the many clans and language groups of Aboriginal people in the Sydney area.
Wahganmuggalee (Farm Cove) pays homage to the Yura (original clans of the site) and to the Aboriginal clans who travelled great distances to attend ceremonies at Sydney Cove.
It also celebrates the survival of Aboriginal culture and acknowledges more recent Aboriginal history – such as the Long March of Peace, Justice and Hope through the city, The Domain and the Royal Botanic Garden. This was held in 1988 in protest of the bicentennial celebrations.
Wahganmuggalee (Farm Cove) was installed in 2000, as part of the Sydney Sculpture Walk program. The artist, a member of the Gurundji nation, consulted with the culture heritage officer from the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council to make sure that correct cultural protocols were followed in creating and installing the work.
Artist
Brenda L Croft was born in Perth and is of the Gurindji people. She studied at Sydney College of Arts, and first exhibited her work in the 1986 NAIDOC Exhibition of Aboriginal and Islander Photographers at the Aboriginal Artists Gallery in Sydney.
Since then she has participated in numerous exhibitions across Australia as well as in Europe, North America and South Africa. She has won many accolades including the 1998 Indigenous Arts Fellowship from the NSW Ministry for the Arts.
Croft also publishes widely on the arts, and is a freelance artist, curator, writer and lecturer.
