Wurundjeri culture will be showcased at the soon-to-be opened Sunvale Community Park.
St Albans’ indigenous artists Lee Anne Clarke and Mandi Barton will create five fire pit-shaped vessels representing the five universal elements – spirit, air/wind, water, earth, and fire – for use as seating around the park’s circuit path.
Clarke said the duo was honoured to be selected for the project.
“Myself and Mandi were both quite overwhelmed when we were told we were shortlisted,” she said.
“We’ve lived in St Albans for 20 years and this is a great opportunity to show our connection to the land.”
Clarke said the finished pieces would come from their hearts.
“There’s been a lot of work go into this,” she said. “We’ve been doing a lot of research and what we’ve found is, the more research we’ve done, the more interested we’ve become.”
Each creation, while representing a different element, will also be distinctly Brimbank.
“We really wanted to showcase the local heritage so it was important to us to show thinks like the waterways and land,” Clarke said.
“There’s actually an endangered species at Kororoit Creek called the growling grass frog and it was things like that we really wanted to display.”
The artworks will feature interpretive signage and are expected to be completed and installed in late 2018.
Once completed, the park will include play spaces (including water play), a large, green kick-a-ball space, a large shelter for gatherings and events, barbecue facilities and an edible garden.
