Culture blooms — Porongurup sculpture’s ancient story marks start of national art trail

A first-of-its kind sculpture has been unveiled in Porongurup, marking the start of an ambitious project to connect the first steps and storylines of Australia’s First Nations people in a national art trail. The detailed sculpture fuses Noongar traditional knowledge and science to chart the ecological and Aboriginal history of the region in a bid to promote cultural and environmental conservation. Unveiled at the Friends of Porongurup-owned Twin Creeks Community Conservation Reserve on Saturday, the 3.5m “evolutionary tree” the Genestreams Sculpture maps the history of native species over hundreds of millions of years. The project was the brainchild of Noongar leader, cultural adviser and activist Carol Pettersen and Queensland artist Ben Beeton. Ms Pettersen said the idea for the project was born out of frustration, when she heard of the Federal Government’s plans to commemorate Captain James Cook’s voyage around Australia five years ago. “It was my disbelief and then my disappointment, that they didn’t think about honouring our first people’s footprints, because our people walked for thousands of years all over Australia,” she said. “Everywhere you go, our people can talk about the ancient walk trails.” Ms Pettersen said the public art project aimed to breathe new life into ancient stories. “I want these stories honoured and our people to be valued for how we took care of the land,” she said. “It was a very humbling experience ... to take people who wanted to walk with me back into that time of ancient practices and ancient stories and that whole attitude of honouring every word that was spoken about our ancient people. “As you walk into the sculpture, immediately you can feel yourself sinking into deep time ... it brings tears to your eyes.” The sculpture was designed by Beeton, who engaged Noongar artists and Melbourne-based scientific illustrator Mali Moir to tell the story of the different totem species. The sculpture was crafted by Torbay Glass Studio’s Mark Hewson with help from local steel manufacturers at Bakers Junction Engineering. It forms part of the Heartland Journeys trail established by conservation group Gondwana Link to promote the biodiversity of the Great Southern. Visitors can read and listen to the stories behind the artwork on the Genestreams website while viewing the sculpture. “From the outside, it is like a large flower and each petal showcases art from the traditional owners,” Beeton said. “When you stand inside, you stand on a base plate which is a sequence of concentric circles which is a geological time scale over many hundreds of millions of years. “You can see where the different species that were selected by Aunty Carol and the conservationist out at Twin Creeks share common ancestry through deep time. “It is really embedded within the landscape like no sculpture I have seen before. “We think we now have a template that we can apply anywhere in Australia.” The pair are now on a mission to expand the project across the country. The next sculpture will be installed in the Bunya Mountains in Queensland in December. More than 100 locations are earmarked around Australia for the sculptures, including William Bay National Park.