A new entrance artwork for the Westmead Children’s Hospital redevelopment called for a work that engaged children in a playful and interactive experience that was also calming and healing. Alison started by looking at the memory of Country, learning that the Parramatta area was once home to the Sydney Blue Gum High Forest ecology, which has become threatened and endangered since colonisation. Alison engaged with a group of Dharug Elders to write a children’s story and sculptural works about magical spirits who would inspire children to ‘come closer’ and learn about the forests and how the Burramattagal cared for the land for millennia.
The artwork is an installation of sculptural lights on a timber wall that leads people through the foyer space as if dancing through the forest. They are colourful abstract creatures that are highly textured and respond to the presence of people by getting brighter as people get closer. Made of bronze, the creatures contain within them hand-painted ceramic blooms made in collaboration with students from Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School. They are hidden within the creatures, encouraging people to view them up close.
Story Collaborators: Dharug Elders Uncle Colin Locke, Aunty Leanne Watson, Uncle Jamie Eastwood and Aunty Leanne Tobin. Ceramic elements made by Simon Reece. Curator: Michael Cohen, City People. Fabricated by Tilt Industrial Design.
Client: HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE NSW
