Collaborating for change with Yuwaalaraay artist Lucy Simpson

As part of our commitment to supporting Indigenous artists, we recently collaborated with Lucy Simpson, a Sydney-based Yuwaalaraay artist, designer, visual communicator and maker who specialises in objects of place, cultural continuities, textiles and conceptual storytelling.

The specially commissioned site-specific installation for our Sydney office showcases her evocative interpretations of narratives that translate inherent respect, understanding, and relationship to and of place — a cornerstone of Australia’s First Nations cultures.

Galuma-li evolved from time spent on Yuwaalaraay country in north-western New South Wales and was inspired by Country, tradition and concepts of balance based in stories related to migratory birds.

Here, seeking sustenance, in flight and reflected across waterways, they carry a narrative of generational knowledge, represented by four transparent glass coolamon forms that echo hand-crafted bark containers; old objects of necessity and innovation created to nurture, carry, provide and support.

One object balanced on a plinth centres the installation, connecting the floor (land and water) to hanging forms (sky). The overall installation replicates the floating of a feather to earth from above, imparting a sense of weightlessness.

Lucy embraces art-making as a process, continually connecting her work back to story and experience. In line with this, the intent of Galuma-li is to provide an opportunity for the broader community to engage with narratives of responsibility, care, and continuing relationships; to take the audience on a journey of country and time (yilaalu) both back and forward.