New oyster sculptures by Yuwaalaraay designer Lucy Simpson shall be put in in prime places round Sydney Harbour as a part of Yananurala, a 9km foreshore stroll that highlights traditionally vital Aboriginal websites, individuals, and tales.
The installations depict clusters of mud flat oyster types which have been as soon as prevalent within the harbour and shall be accompanied by soundscapes, designed to invoke connection to Nation.
‘These installations are a celebration of Country, story, and relationships. They provide an invitation to connect to continuing ways of knowing and relating to Country,’ designer Lucy Simpson mentioned.
‘People can sit, stand, touch, and connect with these works, hold conversations with each other and with time, and tune into Country and reflect on the deep layers of history and stories at these sites.’
Yananurala path at Barangaroo
The place will the oyster sculptures be?
The oyster artworks are the newest part of Yananurala, the harbourside stroll from Pirrama/Pyrmont to Wallamool/Woolloomooloo.
They’ll be put in on the water’s edge in places like Yurong/Mrs Macquarie’s Level, the Woolloomooloo Bay foreshore, Cockle Bay, and the headland at Barangaroo.
Designer Lucy Simpson mentioned, ‘What I loved about these oyster shell forms is a layering of time embodied in their shapes; you can read their experience and memory. Their growth rings are worn and aged as they’ve moved with the tides and rested within the solar.’
‘They also come from this first point of contact at Kamay/Botany Bay, a significant meeting point where histories collide, intertwine, and sit atop one another. This place and these forms are complex and layered.’
Barangaroo Headland
When will the oyster sculptures be put in?
Simpson’s design for the sculptures was chosen following an open callout for concepts for the present part of the Yananurala mission. Growth purposes for the installations shall be submitted later this 12 months, and the sculptures are anticipated to be put in in 2026.
Within the meantime, the Metropolis of Sydney will proceed working with its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel to assemble native First Nations narratives of place to share alongside the sculptures.
Photographs due to Metropolis of Sydney and Doug and Wolf
