Free for everyone: The Barangaroo public art trail
Barangaroo is home to plenty of stunning public art pieces that are completely free to view - all a short walking distance from each other. Have you seen them all?
shellwall 2015
At the south-west corner of Barangaroo on the facade of the Alexander residences there’s a strip of what looks like perfectly white shells cascading down the building. This is shellwall by Bidjigal/Eora elder Esme Timbery and Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones.
It features larger than life aluminium shells and cut out shapes. The artwork celebrates the shell-making tradition that is unique to the Sydney Aboriginal community of La Perouse, embodying the local traditional knowledge they hold.
Remembering
The Wulugul walk is one of the best things to do in Barangaroo and the view on this walk is stunning in any direction. You may see Danie Mellor's Remembering artwork along the way.
Danie Mellor is a contemporary artist of Ngadjon and Mamu Aboriginal rainforest heritage. This thought-provoking piece explores themes of country, people and language using powerful imagery of landscapes and people indigenous to the site of Barangaroo.
Please note, while Central Barangaroo is being delivered, part of the artwork has been relocated to the Harbour Park community recreation zone.
Shadows
Sabine Horning is an award-winning German artist whose photographs and sculptures are exhibited in many of the world’s most lauded museums and galleries.
Sabine Horning's Shadows are photographic images of Australian native flora that adorn the glass across a 170-metre walkway that connects the three International Towers Sydney. The work features transparent shadows and reflections that filter light and reflect the faces of viewers, making people part of the imagery.
Barangaroo Ngangamay
Embedded within the ancient sandstone steps in Barangaroo Reserve you’ll find five rock engravings, hand-carved by male Aboriginal Elders using manual hand tools. These engravings act as keys to unlock five short films.
The short films by renowned Aboriginal artists, Genevieve Grieves and Amanda Jane Reynolds, speak of the significance of Barangaroo the woman, after whom this part of Sydney’s western waterfront is named. To view the videos and learn more about Barangaroo just grab your smartphone, find the engravings and download the free Barangaroo Ngangamay app.
Wellama
At the entrance to the Cutaway in Barangaroo Reserve you’ll find a ten minute long looping film 'Wellama' that reimagines the Welcome to Country, greets visitors to Gadigal Country and pays respect to the traditional custodians of the land.
Wellama means to come back in the local language, and this video explores that theme - bringing ancient knowledge and custom to the surface in a cityscape that’s been transformed by steel and glass. The work transitions between 65,000 years ago and the present to encourage connection to the past and to spirituality.
Mermer Waiskeder: Stories of the Moving Tide
A vibrant fever of hand-stitched eagle rays can be found encircling the canopy of Exchange Square. Appearing to have arisen from the depths of Sydney Harbour, the rays are hand-stitched and woven with “ghost net” - abandoned fishing nets that have been recovered from the ocean and repurposed into a sculptural installation.
This artwork was created by the Ghost Net Collective, a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists from Cairns, Townsville and Erub Arts in the Torres Strait, working closely with lead artist Lynnette Griffiths.
Beacon
Beacon is located in Exchange Place, Barangaroo South.
Designed to conceal vents, it features 64 bronze-anodised aluminium posts inscribed to tell the story of Barangaroo, adapted from an essay by Grace Karsken, and incorporating Aboriginal language from Jakelin Troy’s ‘The Sydney Language’.
‘Mooring Rope’ designed drains
Maritime design elements are incorporated throughout the precinct. The mooring rope style drain runs the length of the three walks in Barangaroo South referencing the maritime history of the district. The design is a subtle reference to the cultural heritage of the Barangaroo precinct.