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West to East is the new sculpture in the garden courtyard by renowned Barkandji artist and master carver Uncle Badger Bates. Uncle Badger was the Artist in Residence for June 2018 and during this time sculpted on site this monumental sandstone artwork This sculpture explores connections to local waterways and stories associated with local flora and fauna. This important artwork is part of an ongoing Indigenous Artists Exchange with Council’s Sister City Broken Hill.
On this work, Bates stated, “The eagle is my wanga or totem, and represents me coming from Broken Hill to Bankstown, which connects me with you all here. The two Ngatji or rainbow serpents live in a special waterhole in the Georges River.”
Badger Bates’ work is represented in nationally renowned collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of NSW and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Aside from being in numerous private collections, Badger has also created public artworks throughout Australia.
*This project is supported through the Australian Government's Indigenous Languages and Arts program.
Credit: Photograph by Christopher Woe
Rolling Musical Screech by artist Sue Pedley is a series of printed signs on posts with images of birds and the descriptions of the bird's voices that inhabit the park surrounding the Bankstown Arts Centre. The work uses the ubiquitous road sign form to draw people's attention to local birds and their often unheard songs and voices. The selection of birds – the Magpie, Fig Bird, Ibis, Koel and Indian Myna is a mix of endemic, migratory and introduced species to the area. Bird communities are like human communities targeted, displaced and vulnerable in a rapidly changing urban environment with high-density housing, new transport systems and the removal of trees, parklands and waterways.
Sue Pedley is a mid-career artist who researches place, community, culture and history in relation to materiality through site-specific installation and interdisciplinary practice. Sue has worked with musicians, architects and designers and has been invited to work with urban and rural communities in Australia and Japan. Sue explores ways to reformulate the basic elements of time, light and space and experiments with different materials and their connection to place.
The Touchstones are three outdoor sculptures created by Artist Jane Cavanough. The Touchstones make reference to the creativity residing in the Arts Centre and the local stories around Canterbury- Bankstown.
The sculptures are constructed with rust, carved glass and copper. Each panel of glass was also frosted on its internal face to amplify and diffuse the sun's light by day, and each sculpture was wired with LED lighting to illuminate by night.
Wurrungwuri is a sculpture based on the home of water. It tells the story of how we all need to actively protect and conserve our natural resources. It was made by the Aboriginal Arts Group that meets weekly at Bankstown Arts Centre and facilitated by artist, Diamando Koutsellis.
Wurrungwuri means "this side of the river" in Darug language.
The Imagine Wall is a space for muralists to exhibit their work. The large outdoor wall (dimensions 20m x 2.4m) in the courtyard at Bankstown Art Centre, faces the railway line and seen by thousands of commuters on a weekly basis. Throughout the year, we ask artists to interpret a theme into a mural in the space. To submit an expression of interest, contact artscentre@cbcity.nsw.gov.au.
Image: Lotte Alexis 'Stories of Strength'
Conversations Amongst Frienst in a mural on Dale Parade, beside Bankstown Arts Centre, by Christina Huynh.
“If you sit amongst the trees to the front of Bankstown Arts Centre, and listen very carefully, you can often hear a conversation amongst two fig tree birds.”
My intention for the design was that it be an extension of the peaceful ambience of Dale and Olympic parade. The piece is inspired by the small business ‘My Florist’ as well as Cynthia Turner’s mosaic-tiled mural situated out the front of the florist.
Driving into Bankstown from Marion Street, I hoped the over-arching trees would uncover an element of delight. I hope when one walks through the parade, they might feel as though they are walking along a big, colourful, urban jungle. That they are walking pass human-sized florals and a conversation amongst friends.
Bankstown Biennale 2020
Thinking Local 2018
