Client: Acciona Samsung Bouygues Joint Venture (ASBJV)

Location: Sydney, Australia

Completion date: 2023

Project Team

Public Art Curator

Cultural Capital

Artist

Aunty Marilyn Russell

Artist

Aunty Esme Timbery

Overview

In 2019, Cultural Capital was engaged by Lendlease, Samsung Boyues Joint Venture to create an integrated facade artwork for the Westconnex M4-M5 Link Tunnels Ventilation Building. Cultural Capital worked in a hands-on curatorial capacity, working closely with both CM Plus Architects and Indigenous artists Marilyn Russell and her mother Aunty Esme Timbery (Bidjigal women from La Perouse).

The starrie shells placed in unified formation signify women, the long-standing tradition of shellwork and its cultural and family significance. The flow of water across the centre of the design signifies the Timbery’s family connection to saltwater, the flow of tides, oceans and Connection to Country; unifying the male and female symbology. The Bidjigal design at the base of the walls references the countless generations of Indigenous men and their craftsmanship while anchoring the design to the ground.

Goals

The goal of this project was to tell a locally significant story in a respectful and collaborative process. The collaboration between architects, engineers, curators, builders and artists was designed to ensure the vibrancy and authenticity of the cultural stories, preserving Aunty Marilyn and Aunty Esme’s shellworking practice in industrial grade materials, and sharing it with generations to come.

The goal of the collaborative process was to bring the interdisciplinary team to the artists living room so that the artists could participate in a comfortable and accessible way, having help to transfer a handmade practice into a piece of infrastructure using industrial materials.

The Link Tunnel Building meshes with the overall strategy of new infrastructure in the area - located near the Sydney Gateway roadway and its integrated artwork story that also shares Bidjigal cultural stories, creating a seam of expression of Country along key roadway infrastructure in the area, as well as the public art trail in the adjacent St Peters Interchange.

Process

The process undertaken to bring this project to life was underpinned by a commitment to taking the collaboration out of the project office and into the artists’ home. Key to this project was Cultural Capital curator Cathy Drew, who established an authentic, personal relationship with the artists, taking responsibility for the artists feeling respected and valued. She also found creative ways to enable the artists to control the design process and layout, using coloured pencils and textas, preparing sketches and cut outs, and preparing collage materials. She championed the artwork and protected the integrity of the artwork along the whole process.

The iterative designs were documented by the architecture team at key stages to ensure it was buildable and then presented back to the artists during a workshop format.

The building and architecture team understood the value of a slower, iterative process, and were committed to finding ways to realise the artists’ design in the materials available. They arranged mock-ups and prototypes to convey scale and material finishes for approval.

The workshops were casual and always involved sharing food. On completion, the group celebrated with a fancy dinner. The project was launched with NSW state dignitaries and covered by local media.