‘Great Emu in the Sky’ Public Artwork

The vision of a significant Dharug story on a major arterial motorway was ambitious. Balarinji’s design challenge was to create sufficient scale and articulation of the ‘Emu’ narrative to be grasped fleetingly but powerfully, at speed, from the motorway, Metro, or flying above Western Sydney Airport, while integrating public art interpretive elements, native planting and wayfinding, plus co-creating with 6 Dharug-connected artists from concept to installation. The engineering and technical realisation of ‘Emu’ was complex. All challenges and measurable parameters, including wind, road safety and airport control requirements, were successfully navigated and met through interdisciplinary collaboration, skill and respect.

Balarinji meticulously explored design decisions, collaborating with artists, technical advisors, fabricators and installation technicians. Balarinji embedded best practice artistic process and storytelling integrity, specific to Western Sydney’s cultural landscape via via Balarinji’s innovative, sector-leading Designing with Country methodology - a cultural design framework for Place based in integrated curation, co-design and design-led engagement with local Aboriginal communities and community-endorsed Aboriginal artists.The lenticular reveal and a multi-layered lighting approach solved the articulation of the emu forms, one on the nest and one in the night sky. The ecology story is told through projected seasonal colour washes, depicting the Dharug six seasons.

The ‘Emu’ is socially significant, presenting a new way of perceiving Australia, one that enriches shared understanding and belonging for all Australians. The work animates curiosity about Aboriginal environmental thinking through colour washes of the Dharug seasonal calendar and its interaction with surrounding native planting.Sited in a commercially important location at the intersection of 5 transport modes - motoring, aviation, train, cycling, pedestrian - it places the Dharug story at the heart of the regeneration of Western Sydney as a centre of dynamic commercial growth. It is an exemplar for future planning, demonstrating how Country-centred design creates culturally resonant public spaces.

An underpinning narrative of ‘Emu’ is the seasonal indicators Aboriginal peoples have used for millennia to guide when and what to eat and how to live within and manage the natural environment. The design leads to curiosity and discovery about sustainability and avoids being didactic. Materiality was a central consideration.The mirrored finish of the steel branches of the ‘nest’ is a design device to reflect the light of Sky Country - the sun and moon - as well as the projected colour washes and surrounding native planting. This context references the unique flora and fauna cycles of the Aboriginal six seasons of Western Sydney, encouraging the viewer to experience and connect with Country. The geodesic structure supporting the ‘Emu’ nest uses galvanized steel, without reflective qualities, to ensure the frame recedes behind the sculpture. The engineering required 372 tonnes of structural steel and 1,100+ LED lights. The ‘nest’ structure housing the illuminated emu forms is made up of 900 mirrored signature stainless steel branches, 3.8 kilometres in length. Illustrating the contextual depth of the storytelling, the branches refer to the Western Sydney landscape - creeks, ridge lines, silcrete.