English
A Sydney icon celebrates half a century this month.
There will be a month of festivities to celebrate 50 years of Sydney Opera House, after it was first opened to the public on the 20th of October in 1973.
Its sails are recognisable all over the world, but there's a lesser known Aboriginal history that marks the site once called Tubowgule, now known as Bennelong Point.
Quandamooka artist Megan Cope has created art installation 'Whispers' which is on display in three different parts of the Opera House for the entire month of October.
The more than 85,000 oyster shells that form part of her work reference middens, which are part of the rich history of Aboriginal rituals that used to take place on the very site where the Opera House now stands.
Cope shared the inspiration behind her work.
"A lot of the work I do it stems from this history that has occurred on our country, in Quandamooka Country. So a lot of our middens were robbed and burnt, the shell waste was burnt to use lime to build the foundations and cement for the colony. But really what middens are, are a location of place where families ate over a long period of time."
Angela attended the opening ceremony of the Opera House with her mother 50 years ago.
Standing in front of two hundred timber Kinyingarra Guwinyanba poles covered in oyster shells, Angela told SBS she welcomes the historical and cultural Aboriginal references commemorated in this work.
"I guess it shows a change in attitude, because like 50 years ago you come in for the opening of the Opera House, but there was no recognition of in that whole ceremony on that day, there was no recognition of Indigenous ownership, or that anyone was here. It was very much the Queen, and white development kind of celebration. So this shows a very different light from 50 years ago. There would have been plenty middens here so to remind people of what had been here before and what would still be underneath the Opera House if you went digging, I think that brings the past and present together quite well."
Cope's reference to Aboriginal middens is important.
She says there are varying definitions of middens, but for Aboriginal people they are evidence of past hunting, gathering and food processing activities within a particular area.
Cope says there are records citing the middens at Sydney's Opera House were around 100 metres long and up to 12 metres high.
"That for me is really important because when you grow up Aboriginal in this country we've often been antagonised or told we didn't have architecture and we didn't have this and that. And there are a lot of things that people say to kind of justify the colonial violence that occurred, and justify the continued extraction of our Country. So I'm interested in the material politics attached to place. So I guess these works really focus on oyster middens and Saltwater Country."
Sarah was also moved by this cultural and historical reference displayed across one of Sydney's most famous landmarks.
"It's just such a powerful reminder that this was an important gathering place for Aboriginal people. We did know it was drawing reference to middens, so the way people would gather and collect oyster shells, oysters, and eat them, and then they would become a big pile of oyster shells. And you can find middens all over the country, we've certainly seen them when we've been out and about ourselves. So to see them here is an amazing reminder that this was a location where people would have collected and eaten, and feasted and celebrated, and left behind remnants of that in the shells."
Others, like John, were also admiring the structural elements of the artwork.
"I think it's really, really nice. I'm an industrial designer so I'm just looking at how it's constructed but I think it's really beautiful. I think of food, I think of the history of Australia, Aboriginal culture. And yeah, you know, obviously it's an important time. I hope it has some impact. I'm sure that's why it's here."
Cope says she soon realised she would need the help of many volunteers to make her work a reality.
More than 3 thousand volunteers have helped in the process of creating the installation over the past year, working together to clean, polish, drill and thread thousands of shells by hand.
"You know when I came up with the design and kind of realised the scale required to sit gently and respectfully with the Opera House, because it's such an enormous beautiful building - cultural site for everyone these days. Once we had done those drawings to scale and done some site measures I knew we would need a lot of shells. And I originally thought we would need about 200,000. But once we had done the maths I was quite relieved to find it was only about 85,000. So it's obvious we only had really 5 months to produce the works, so it was impossible to do that alone. And I also really enjoy inviting people into the studio, and inviting people into that space."
Many tourists were also fascinated to observe the tens of thousands of oyster shells that formed in a pile on the upper forecourt of the Opera House.
Nikita, who is visiting from Toronto, told SBS the art work is a reminder of the importance of preserving First Nations culture all around the world.
"We're from Toronto so we have a similar - well not a similar - but a similar experience with First Nations people there, and their relations with the government. So it's just a good thing to see it brought up here, and to see their place is mentioned more. Similarly there, where you see some of that culture is disappearing, it's nice to see it being brought to the forefront with installations like these. I just think it spreads more awareness to folks, to people that aren't aware of their history. And it probably encourages a few people to do some research. And I think that's a good thing."
It's these conversations Cope hopes to inspire, not only for the month the work is on display at Sydney Opera House, but also into the future.
"I hope that they see our culture, I hope they recognise an Aboriginal presence at such a significant cultural site. And you know I hope that they have an opportunity to see the past in the midden form, and then also consider the future with my Kinyingarra poles located at the front, so we can think about the plight of oyster reefs globally. So I'm hoping that we can have a bit of a connection to past, present and future."
Italian
Un’icona di Sydney festeggia in questo mese il mezzo secolo di vita.
Ci sarà una trenta giorni di eventi per celebrare i 50 anni della Sydney Opera House, che venne aperta al pubblico per la prima volta il 20 ottobre del 1973.
Le sue vele sono riconoscibili in tutto il mondo, ma c’è una storia aborigena meno nota che caratterizza quel luogo, una volta chiamato Tubowgule, e adesso noto come Bennelong Point.
L’artista Quandamooka Megan Cope ha creato un’installazione intitolata 'Whispers' che è in mostra in tre diverse aree dell’Opera House per tutto il mese di ottobre.
I più di 85mila gusci di ostrica che compongono parte del suo lavoro rimandano ai cumuli, che sono parte della ricca storia dei rituali aborigeni che avevano luogo proprio nell’area su cui oggi sorge l’Opera House.
Cope ha raccontato cosa l’ha ispirata.
"A lot of the work I do it stems from this history that has occurred on our country, in Quandamooka Country. So a lot of our middens were robbed and burnt, the shell waste was burnt to use lime to build the foundations and cement for the colony. But really what middens are, are a location of place where families ate over a long period of time."
Angela presenziò alla cerimonia di apertura dell’Opera House con sua madre 50 anni fa.
In piedi di fronte a 200 pali di legno Kinyingarra Guwinyanba coperti di gusci di ostrica, Angela ha raccontato a SBS che approva i riferimenti alla storia e alla cultura aborigena rievocati in quest'opera.
"I guess it shows a change in attitude, because like 50 years ago you come in for the opening of the Opera House, but there was no recognition of in that whole ceremony on that day, there was no recognition of Indigenous ownership, or that anyone was here. It was very much the Queen, and white development kind of celebration. So this shows a very different light from 50 years ago. There would have been plenty middens here so to remind people of what had been here before and what would still be underneath the Opera House if you went digging, I think that brings the past and present together quite well."
Il riferimento di Cope ai cumuli aborigeni è importante.
Cope ha detto che ci sono diverse definizioni di cumuli, ma per gli aborigeni sono la prova di attività di caccia, raccolta e preparazione dei cibi avvenute in un’area precisa.
Cope ha detto che secondo alcuni documenti, presso la Sydney Opera House c’erano cumuli lunghi 100 metri e alti 12.
"That for me is really important because when you grow up Aboriginal in this country we've often been antagonised or told we didn't have architecture and we didn't have this and that. And there are a lot of things that people say to kind of justify the colonial violence that occurred, and justify the continued extraction of our Country. So I'm interested in the material politics attached to place. So I guess these works really focus on oyster middens and Saltwater Country."
Anche Sarah era commossa da questo riferimento storico-culturale esposto attraverso uno dei luoghi simbolo di Sydney.
"It's just such a powerful reminder that this was an important gathering place for Aboriginal people. We did know it was drawing reference to middens, so the way people would gather and collect oyster shells, oysters, and eat them, and then they would become a big pile of oyster shells. And you can find middens all over the country, we've certainly seen them when we've been out and about ourselves. So to see them here is an amazing reminder that this was a location where people would have collected and eaten, and feasted and celebrated, and left behind remnants of that in the shells."
Altri, come John, hanno apprezzato anche gli elementi stutturali che componevano l’opera.
"I think it's really, really nice. I'm an industrial designer so I'm just looking at how it's constructed but I think it's really beautiful. I think of food, I think of the history of Australia, Aboriginal culture. And yeah, you know, obviously it's an important time. I hope it has some impact. I'm sure that's why it's here."
Cope ha detto che si è subito resa conto che avrebbe avuto bisogno dell’aiuto di molti volontari per realizzare il suo progetto.
Più di 3mila volontari hanno fornito aiuto alla realizzazione dell’installazione nell’ultimo anno, lavorando insieme per pulire, lucidare, forare e unire con lo spago migliaia di conchiglie a mano.
"You know when I came up with the design and kind of realised the scale required to sit gently and respectfully with the Opera House, because it's such an enormous beautiful building - cultural site for everyone these days. Once we had done those drawings to scale and done some site measures I knew we would need a lot of shells. And I originally thought we would need about 200,000. But once we had done the maths I was quite relieved to find it was only about 85,000. So it's obvious we only had really 5 months to produce the works, so it was impossible to do that alone. And I also really enjoy inviting people into the studio, and inviting people into that space."
Anche molti turisti sono rimasti affascinati dalla vista di decine di migliaia di gusci di ostrica che formano un mucchio nel cortile superiore dell’Opera House.
Nikita, in visita da Toronto, ha detto a SBS che l’opera d’arte è un monito sull’importanza di preservare la cultura delle First Nations in tutto il mondo.
"We're from Toronto so we have a similar - well not a similar - but a similar experience with First Nations people there, and their relations with the government. So it's just a good thing to see it brought up here, and to see their place is mentioned more. Similarly there, where you see some of that culture is disappearing, it's nice to see it being brought to the forefront with installations like these. I just think it spreads more awareness to folks, to people that aren't aware of their history. And it probably encourages a few people to do some research. And I think that's a good thing."
È proprio questo tipo di conversazioni che Cope vuole stimolare, non soltanto durante il mese nel quale l’opera è in mostra al Sydney Opera House, ma anche nel futuro.
"I hope that they see our culture, I hope they recognise an Aboriginal presence at such a significant cultural site. And you know I hope that they have an opportunity to see the past in the midden form, and then also consider the future with my Kinyingarra poles located at the front, so we can think about the plight of oyster reefs globally. So I'm hoping that we can have a bit of a connection to past, present and future."
