From left to right,Kristian Laemmle-Ruff,artist Kent Morris,and Grace Darling Armand,who have collaborated on a sculpture at Fed Square to mark Reconciliation Week. Laemmle-Ruff and Armand are from Studio John Fish.Scott McNaughton
It’s a statement that you’re always on Country,says Morris,a Barkindji man. “Also where you’re placed – past,present and future – to think of that in terms of yourself.”
The sculpture uses elements of the suburban built environment to reflect aspects of First Nations cultural knowledge and heritage. It is surrounded by a pond of water and has three cockatoos perched on top.
CalledUnvanished,measuring six metres wide and four metres high,it is on site at the Square for the next 10 days and then looking for a permanent home. “We are here,we have always been here,but too often we and our stories are unseen and unknown. We have not vanished,” says Morris,who is also the CEO of.
Location and country is a strong motif in all his work. Despite having trained in sculpture at the Victorian College of the Arts,. The work was inspired by his ongoing photographic series,also calledUnvanished.
Morris with his new sculpture at Federation Square:“We are here and we have always been here.”Scott McNaughton
Taken while walking “on Country and observing” his local neighbourhoods of St Kilda and Elwood,the photographs feature birds in the built environment,reflecting their resilience and adaptability. The sulphur-crested cockatoos featured in the shots – and the sculpture – have been around for 50 million years,he says,and they originated in Australia.
There are clear parallels with Indigenous people. “They’re very community-minded and great communicators,” says Morris. “They are part of First Peoples creation stories,and many of those link them to astronomy and the Milky Way and to this broader view of who we are as part of the greater universe and how important the natural universe is.
“I love the idea of looking up and understanding that we are part of something bigger,we are interconnected and part of a great narrative,this storehouse of knowledge,the importance of the past and how our actions determine the future.”
The Federation Square site has long been significant as a central place for gathering,given its location by the Birrarung (the Yarra River). Morris says once he had the idea about a gathering place and the circular nature of the work,he knew he needed to incorporate water,which plays such a central role in First Nations culture. “The idea we’re mostly made of water,that it reflects the sky,again that positioning yourself in that space of earth,water and sky and your role and responsibility.”
The work is a collaboration between Morris and Studio John Fish,as well as immersive technology studio Phoria and sound artist James Henry. Morris says Henry’s 10-minute soundscape “takes people on a journey from time immemorial through to now”. There’s also an AR filter so visitors can create their own experiences of the work,and a “selfie helper”,which activates a large X form that moves and morphs in selfies.
Care for Country is central to Indigenous thinking. Morris says sustainability and looking after the environment has underpinned the 65,000-plus years of Indigenous people living in this country. “It’s top of the list in First Nations culture,” he says,adding that even now when it is so critical,it’s an ongoing battle to share that knowledge.
“This work brings people together to gather,it looks at spirituality and physicality,” he says. “I want to keep reinforcing this idea:we’re here,we have great knowledge and this country isn’t using it in a way that would benefit everyone.”
The sculpture’s unveiling on Friday marks the beginning of Reconciliation Week,and comes at an interesting time in Australian politics. Morris hopes the newly elected government will achieve great things. The gap isn’t closing around health and education for Indigenous people,he says. “How do we reshape and combine these two diametrically opposed views of the world:one around sustainability and everyone cared for,as opposed to this vain attempt to control nature and the individual pursuits.”
He says it feels like a moment of optimism for Australia,with broader and more diverse voices in parliament,as well as increased representation by Indigenous people. “I hope that all the work of people across all the disciplines,including the creatives,that this momentum can continue and finally reach a point of resolution – of Truth,Voice,Treaty,” Morris says. “Maybe this is the moment this country will be brave.”
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