NAIDOC Week | 200 George Street Sydney

Gadigal Land at Warrane?

200 George St Sydney EY Centre

"It seems fitting that this building, in its aspirations to create a truly Australian sense of place, puts an indigenous Australian woman artist on an equal footing with American male artists. ”

First Nations Collaborators: Judy Watson Pre-eminent, internationally acclaimed artist and Waanyi womn. Uncle Allen Madden Gadigal elder and cultural representative for the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council Hettie Perkins art curator, writer, former indigenous curator AGNSW

"This artwork should feel watery and light, drawing upon the elements, including the beautiful, natural sandstone that comes from beneath the ground. People should feel a connection to history and memory and awash with the water of the tank stream.”? - Judy Watson, Artist?

Internationally renowned Australian Indigenous artist Judy Watson, in consultation with Local Gadigal Elder Uncle Allan Madden, created ngarunga nangama (calm water dream) for the lobby at 200 George Street, developed by Mirvac and Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp Architects (FJMT). The site connects with the history of Sydney’s Tank Stream, which was the first water supply in the early days of colonization.

Made of sandstone quarried from below the building, the work shows imagery of early maps, water, artifacts and text that engage deeply with the history of the site. The theme of water continues throughout the space and into the night, with light moving across the surface of the sandstone, symbolizing the water that lies beneath the ground.

Design Intent by Judy Watson

The site connects with the history of the Tank Stream which runs parallel with George and Pitt Streets. My mother’s family are from the Waanyi language group of North West Queensland. We are called ‘running water’ people. I have always been interested in bodies of water, ground water, springs etc. In our area there is beautiful clear subterranean water (known as dinosaur water, because it is ancient), project, I was immediately swimming through the space in my imagination.?

I am interested in the earliest images of this stream and Warrane, Sydney Cove. Some of the early maps of this place will be incised into the sandstone walls and overlaid with imagery of washes, suggesting water, as well as text, objects, architectural plans, the wells that were on site beneath the ground. There will also be lines of embedded shells that speak of Aboriginal shell middens which were collected by early colonists, and burnt for their lime which went into the mortar of the evident around the Rocks. This means that Aboriginal culture is literally within the walls of the early architecture. I imagine all the of these spaces, I too am swallowing culture.?

As well as the designs on the sandstone walls, I want to continue the theme of water throughout the space and into the night. On the stainless steel lift doors, I would like to incorporate imagery of water washes across the surface. When the light outside begins to fade I would like to have a living water element floating through the space. I imagine this as light moving across the surface of the sandstone and possibly floor and ceiling spaces. It will be like a reflection of the water that lies beneath the ground, that connects all of us to this place.

Some of the objects I have chosen are Aboriginal shell hooks, made?granite stone object that was found in the tank stream. It is not known whether it is an Aboriginal stone pounder or a non Aboriginal shaped?object and I would like this to be a major part of the artwork. If possible I would like this 3 D round object to be protruding from the sandstone wall.

Other objects referenced include Cora Gooseberry’s breast plate, as well as one that is incised with the name Kitten , and another, Joe Timbery. All of these will need to be checked with Allan Madden and the Timbery family as to whether they are appropriate for this site. There are also images of stone tools, net fragments, a club and shield.

“This opens up the work to become a tool to pull back the cloak of ignorance and reveal the indelible Aboriginal presence that is in all Country around Australia. When people learn more about their history and their place in the world they will have more respect for Aboriginal people and culture and knowledge about the importance of Land” - Judy Watson Waanyi Artist?

I will collect images of Chinese fragments, such as the I-ching and ceramic fragments and scatter these around the outline of one of the wells from this site.

The design at this stage is very much a working design and very fluid in its approach. I still haven’t been to the Museum of Sydney and have a few more people I want to talk to about imagery and documents for this artwork.

Within the foyer, I hope to have a way of showing dissolving slides that move through and across time. I have chosen a few of the early views of Sydney Harbour, some of which show the Tank Stream.

There are other images depicting Aboriginal people including Bennelong, Bungaree and Cora Gooseberry, who were important to this place. I like the idea of a device which is like an antiquated, photographic device, where people can turn the handle and change the slide. I??ring around the glass / Perspex viewing space.

Photo credit: Brett Boardman

Design Intent Images: Judy Watson