Bajirru! there you all are, hello! From the Yanyuwa language of Balarinji’s origin community Borroloola NT
Jinangu awara wabarrangu barra kalu-wingka marnijinju wabudala kari-nguthundawabarrangu jinangu Australia li-wulu marnaji barra liyi-Yanyuwawu awara li-Marranbala li-Arrwangala li-Gudanji jinangu awara Burrulula marnaji yamulhu
Our Country we belong to is Borroloola. Yanyuwa, Marra, Gudanji and Garrawa people.We welcome everyone to this land Australia.
Yanyuwa elder Samuel Evans Jamika
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. are respectfully advised this website contains references, artworks and images of people who have passed
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Mostyn Copper/Ampol

Pheasants Nest Service Centre Public Art

#Community engagement #Interiors #Public art #Retail #Sculpture #Sydney
Artist
Danielle Mate
Year
2023
Location
Macarthur, NSW

Balarinji was engaged by Mostyn Copper on behalf of Ampol to create an exceptional service centre experience for motorists by integrating community-endorsed and locally connected Aboriginal narrative and public art into the Pheasants Nest Highway Service Centre (M31) in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales.

Ampol saw the opportunity to work in collaboration with local Dharawal people to provide spaces that connect with the Dharawal knowledge and stories, allowing travellers to rest and revive while appreciating local culture.

Balarinji undertook a community engagement process with the Dharawal and local Aboriginal community members to create Designing with Country principles that interpreted the foundational narrative of the site. This outlined three key themes: Acknowledging Country, The Lyrebird and The White Waratah.

Aboriginal artist Danielle Mate was appointed to co-create public art with Balarinji Studio for the service centre. The two Acknowledgement of Country artworks interpret the stories of Wiridjiribin and Mana Gewaan, as shared by Dharawal elder Glenda Chalker.

The Wiridjiribin (Lyrebird)

The Wiridjiribin (Lyrebird), the totem of the Dharawal people, and is depicted in the artwork for the northbound centre. The artwork uses linework, colour and materiality to tell the story through contemporary art and design.

Artwork co-created by local Aboriginal artist Danielle Mate and Balarinji Studio

This artwork depicts the Wiridjiribin (Lyrebird) which is a totem of the Dharawal people of this Country. In the Dreaming, all animals could speak to one another and hold great ceremonies. When the animals began to speak hurtful things behind each other’s backs, Wiridjiribin resolved the conflict by giving each animal their own language so they could no longer talk about one another. Wiridjiribin, however, could still talk to them all, for he is the speaker of all languages. He is known as a peacemaker and continues to mimic and sing the songs of other animals and the sounds of Country.

The artwork uses linework, colour and materiality to tell the story of Wiridjiribin through contemporary art and design. The pink acrylic layer has five flowing lines that represent the songs and sound waves of Wiridjiribin. The three acrylic panels that overlay these flowing lines represent the feathers of the Wiridjiribin. The blue, orange and black are the colours of the lyrebird and the green is the colour of nature. The two layers of acrylic are connected by tubes that, when viewed from the front, appear as dots to symbolise the sounds or musical notes of Wiridjiribin. At the bottom of the art piece, the patterns of lyrebird feet symbolise the movement of Wiridjiribin.

Language and story by Dharawal elder Glenda Chalker

The Mana Gewaan (Waratah)

The Mana Gewaan (Waratah) artwork in the southbound centre is inspired by a story from the beginning of the world where all Mana Gewaan (waratah) were once white. The artwork explores the lifecycle of the waratah by depicting the different stages of blooming, informed by the seasonal indicators of the flower and stalk.

Artwork by local Aboriginal artist Danielle Mate in co-design with Balarinji

This artwork is inspired by the Mana Gewaan (Waratah) and is a story from the beginning of the world where all Mana Gewaan were once white. Amongst the heath where the waratahs grew lived the Wungowunga (Wonga Pigeon). One day the female wonga pigeon could not find her mate and decided to fly above the tree canopy which she would not normally do. When she finally heard her mate amongst the heath, she was attacked by a Burda (Eaglehawk) where she flew from waratah to waratah staining them red with her blood. This is a story of love and white waratahs continue to be found in this area today.

The concept explores the Mana Gewaan story and the life cycle of the waratah by depicting the different stages of blooming, informed by the lifecycle and seasonal indicators of the flower and stalk. Three distinct flowers sculpted from plywood use scale and tonal accents to represent the different stages of the Mana Gewaan story. The first flower is the smallest and includes white tonal accents to represent when all Mana Gewaan were once white. The second flower illustrates the white Mana Gewaan beginning to bloom. The third and final waratah uses red tonal accents to represent the final journey of Wungowunga, where she stained the flowers red. At the bottom of the art piece, the patterns of the wonga pigeon feet are illustrated to further symbolise the journey and story of Wungowunga.

Language and story by Dharawal elder Glenda Chalker

Bios

Danielle Mate

Danielle Mate acknowledges her culture through the Kunja people of the Cunnamulla region in South Western Queensland. Danielle has grown up, lived and worked on Dharawal Country. She has held numerous private exhibitions in NSW, QLD and the ACT and, in 2012, her work became part of the Private Collection of The American Ambassador in Canberra ACT and President Obama’s Private Collection at the White House, Washington DC.

Danielle found an early connection with art while at school and describes this time as a period of personal expression and learning about her own culture in an

environment where identifying as a young Aboriginal person in a predominantly non-Aboriginal urban community was a difficult thing to do. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts and Design) from the University of Wollongong in NSW. Danielle says, ‘for thousands of years, Aboriginal people have been using symbolism and art forms to communicate and recount stories, and have not been reliant on the use of labelling or using paragraphs of words to share stories’.

Danielle creates art that is relevant to where she is from, where she has been and where she is at in her current belonging.

Glenda Chalker

Glenda Chalker is a Dharawal elder of the Cubbitch Barta and a descendant of the survivors of the 1816 massacre who moved to John Macarthur’s property at Camden.

Glenda is passionate about cultural heritage and works on heritage matters every day. She is party to a registered Indigenous Land Use Agreement and is part of the Cubbitch Barta Native Title Claimant process. Glenda is a member of the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land

Council and has served as treasurer, deputy chairperson and chairperson. Glenda has formerly been a member of the National Parks and Wildlife Sydney Metropolitan South Regional Advisory Committee. Currently, Glenda is a member of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area Advisory Committee and Aboriginal Advisory Group and is the chairperson of the Cubbitch Barta Native Title Claimants Aboriginal Organisation.