Monday, October 14th, 2019
A contemporary public mural weaving local Aboriginal stories of land, water, people and culture is complete along a Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation noise wall at North Balgowlah.
Member for Manly James Griffin said the artwork ‘Shorelines and Storylines’, along the western boundary of the road near Serpentine Crescent, was created by local Aboriginal artist Jessica Birk and officially finished today.
“This is an inspiring piece that showcases the Aboriginal heritage of the local area, by a talented artist from the Northern Beaches,” Mr Griffin said.
“Sydney-based and Aboriginal-owned agency Balarinji led the design of the mural, which complements the landscape, helps deter vandals and doesn’t distract motorists.”
Mr Griffin said the mural is a powerful reflection of the talent and stories coming from the Northern Beaches Aboriginal community.
“The design concept represents the connection between Aboriginal people here today and in the past to ‘Country’ - the land and waters of northern Sydney,” Mr Griffin said.
“The design incorporates images of local rock engravings, local bush foods and medicine, paying homage to the rich local landscape around North Balgowlah.”
Ms Birk said the design used colour, pattern and stylised mapping of the land to evoke contemporary stories of culture and country.
“I hope the work reflects the holistic relationship Aboriginal traditional owners had with the land for generations, along with our responsibility to care for it today,” Ms Birk said.
“Design elements include rock wallabies, sandstone, seeds, gum leaves, banksias, hibiscus and wattle flowers, fresh and salt waterways, and stingrays.”
Jess Birk at the unveiling.
The noise wall is in two sections, one 330m and another 96m long, and between 2 and 4.5m high. It was built in 2016 to reduce noise generated from traffic for local residents. Work on the mural started in April.
