Governor David Hurley and Lord Mayor Clover Moore have unveiled plans for a major new artwork overlooking Sydney Harbour that will celebrate and honour the First Peoples of Australia.
bara by Aboriginal artist Judy Watson will take pride of place on the Tarpeian Precinct Lawn above Dubbagullee, also known as Bennelong Point. The work will acknowledge clans of the Eora Nation and Elders, past and present.
The monumental 2.7 metre tall installation was commissioned by the City of Sydney and has been modelled after the crescent shapes of ‘bara’, which are traditional fish hooks crafted and used by Gadigal women for thousands of years. The crescent shapes of the artwork resemble the curve of the moon, the natural coves of Sydney Harbour and the sails of the Sydney Opera House. bara will also feature a sparkly finish which is said to bear a resemblance to local seashells.
“My concept for bara reimagines ancient gathering spaces where people sat by fires on the headlands and feasted. Looking down they would see the nawi (canoes) with fishing families crisscrossing the harbour, scarifying the water with their passage,” Judy Watson said, “bara will provide a quiet space for ceremony, reflection and contemplation in a busy and ever-changing city. It will be inspiring and educational, beautiful and transformative.”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said bara is a tribute to the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and will become one of the most significant artworks in Sydney’s history.
“Our community has made clear that they wanted meaningful recognition of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories in the public domain,” the Lord Mayor announced at the unveiling ceremony.
“Alongside our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel and communities, we created the Eora Journey, which includes a seven-part public art program to embed the stories of the First Peoples of Australia in the heart of Sydney. bara will look upon the Eora Nation and honour the enduring strength and resilience of the Gadigal people,” she commented.
The harbour-side location means that bara will be seen by thousands of Sydney observers and visitors alike, serving as a permanent reminder of the significance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in Sydney and Australia as a whole.
The project itself is the result of an extensive artist selection process and a 10-member independent expert panel, in which six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives, endorsed Judy Watson’s proposal for the project against other competing Australian artists. The artwork is expected to be unveiled in 2020.
More information on the bara can be found here.