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
#Branding #Community engagement #Curation #Graphic design #Interiors #Landscape architecture #Logo #Microsoft #Mural #Nespresso #Precinct #Public art #Qantas #Reconciliation Action Plan #Retail #Sculpture #Sydney #Transport for NSW #Workplace
Macquarie Group

1 Elizabeth Street Public Art

#Community engagement #Landscape architecture #Precinct #Public art #Sydney
Artists
Debra Beale, Suzy Evans, Jamie Eastwood
Year
2024

The Sydney Metro Martin Place development opened in August 2024.

It involved the creation of the new Martin Place metro station, advanced underground pedestrian connections, contemporary retail and dining spaces, a public art program, as well as two new commercial buildings above the station – 39 Martin Place and 1 Elizabeth Street.

Balarinji was engaged by Macquarie Group, the developer of the precinct, to deliver a Designing with Country response for the project. This involved engaging with the Sydney CBD-connected Aboriginal community to co-design a community endorsed narrative and site-specific public art response for the Martin Place site.

Based on the central themes of Connection to Country, Gadigal people, waterways, Sky Country, and language which were co-designed with the local community, three artworks were created in co-design with locally-connected Aboriginal artists and Balarinji, with consultation from Event Engineering, Steensen Varming and Macquarie Group’s design team.

Debra Beale
‘Ngalga Dyi (Look Here)’, ‘Duba (Ground)’, ‘Nura & Garrigarrang (Country and Sea)’

This collection of three artworks by Debra Beale is deeply connected with Gadigal Country and culture. It explores site-specific narratives of Country significant to the Martin Place Metro Precinct, inspired by Gadigal women, children and Country.

The collection combines wayfinding totems called Ngalga (Look Here), an Acknowledgement of Country flooring design called Duba (Ground), and a seating design called Nura & Garrigarrang (Country and Sea).

The three artworks celebrate the story of Saltwater Country and Gadigal culture connected to the Martin Place site. They celebrate the Gadigal connection to the saltwater harbour, coves, bays and coastlines.

They also highlight the importance of Tank Stream, a freshwater stream directly underneath Martin Place which was maintained for centuries by the Gadigal and still flows today.

Ngalga (Look Here) consists of both digital and static wayfinding totems. The digital totems feature depictions of Murawal (fish) that belong to Gadigal waterways. The static totems represent native shellfish, such as Dal-gal (mussels), Badangi (Sydney rock oyster), Kah-dien (cockles), and the midden story of the area.

Duba (Ground) is deeply connected to Gadigal Country and culture. The written Acknowledgement of Country is shaped to reflect the curve & flow of the local waterways and feature illustrations of shellfish, Mural (fish) & Gawura (whale), which are significant animals to the Gadigal.

Nura & Garrigarrang (Country and Sea) has been integrated into a terraced seating area. The seating reflects Sydney’s layered sandstone coastline. The artwork depicts Badangi (rock oysters), Dal-gal (mussels), clam shells, pipi clusters and abalone clusters unique to Gadigal Country.

These tell a deeper story of Saltwater Country and Gadigal life. Gadigal women and children would walk Country and collect shellfish, providing families and communities with vital food sources and tool-making materials.

The artwork also speaks to the significant middens in the areas, used to sustainably maintain Country. The artwork is a strong statement of Gadigal culture, Country and the sea.

Jamie Eastwood
Giba

The Giba sandstone carvings created by Jamie Eastwood were inspired by his ancestors, the many Aboriginal sandstone engravings found throughout the Sydney Harbour area and the Gadigals’ spiritual connection to the land.

The intricate designs and patterns tell stories of creation, ancestral spirits, and the natural world.  These include Yiluk (sun), Wirriga (goanna), Garagula (tides), Buru (kangaroo), Maugra (fish) Nayung gumirri (waterholes), Walan (rain), Eora Gadigal Nura (Country and people of Sydney), Warri Warri (possum), Bada (bush tucker), Marriong Bura Birrong (Emu in the Sky), and Marriong Manuwi (emu tracks).

Both traditional and contemporary methods were used in the carving process. Jamie was inspired by the original method of rock engravings, where a series of holes were made either using a granite stone or shell to outline the image he was engraving. Once this process was done, the holes would be connected by a single etched line to form an image. Jamie recreated this process by using a powered drill and chisels.

The carvings symbolise deep cultural respect and Jamie hopes they serve as a way to preserve and celebrate Aboriginal culture, while also sharing his ancient artform with the wider community.

Suzy Evans
‘Laughing Stars’

The illuminated Laughing Stars artwork depicts Aboriginal astral knowledge and Sky Country. Aboriginal cultures have used the sky and stars for navigation and tracking seasonal changes throughout time immemorial. Sky Country is also deeply connected with the Creation. It holds the oldest stories and is a celebration of thousands of years of knowledge sharing and storytelling that underpin ongoing physical and spiritual connections with Country. 

The artwork is based on the knowledge and stories shared by Suzy and her family, which have been passed down through generations, for instance when you see the stars twinkling, they are laughing. This was the inspiration for Suzy’s artwork and speaks to the personification of Country and also hints at the sense of humour that can often be found within Dreaming stories. 

Each of the 28 stars in the installation is unique allowing viewers to identify with individual stars. The quartz hues of soft cream, warm white, yellow, pinks and pale blue, used in Laughing Stars were drawn from the Country around Lighting Ridge, the origin place of the Dreaming story.

Artist Bios

Debra Beale

Debra Beale is a Gamilaraay/Wonnarua/Boonwurrung –Yorta Yorta/Palawa woman. She is a Blue Mountains and Sydney-based designer and maker. She was born in Surry Hills and has been practising art for over thirty years. Debra’s artwork tells a narrative of Aboriginal cultural practices, focusing on cultural heritage, family and community. It is a combination of Women’s Business, with a process of acknowledging the past and moving forward to the future.

Her connection to Gadigal Country is a deep spiritual connection through sea waters connecting her to her mother’s bloodlines from the Boonwurrung/Palawa and Yorta Yorta Nations. Her connection also flows through the Wonnarua and Gamilaraay Nations with connections through her father’s bloodlines and Songlines. Through these connections comes her identity, consisting of Mother Earth and Father Sky.

Suzy Evans

Suzy Evans is a Gomeroi woman and celebrated artist. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Suzy’s parents and grandparents instilled in her a love of Country, both in the city and in the country as they spent holidays in towns west of Sydney. Suzy lived in Moree for twenty years and has been a practicing artist for nearly 25 years.

Jamie Eastwood

Jamie Eastwood is a Ngemba-Dharug man with ties to the Gadigal. He has lived in the Western Sydney area for the past 30 years. Jamie has been a practicing artist for more than 20 years, working on both large- and small-scale community art projects.

As a visual artist, mainly using acrylic paint, his work has been exhibited widely. He has won several awards, including NSW Aboriginal Artist of the Year; the Centennial Medal Award for Service to the Arts; and the Young Australian Citizen of the Year by Parramatta City Council.

With a wealth of experience, Jamie loves to teach and pass on his skills and knowledge to others. He is passionate about telling the stories of his Aboriginal culture through art in both a traditional and non-traditional way and, by doing so, he hopes to keep the Dreaming alive.