Three public artworks installed at Curtin University’s new Exchange precinct capture WA’s unique history, from ancient Noongar songlines to the State’s diverse geology.
Artist and Nimunburr-Yawuru-Ballardong-Noongar man Kamsani (Kam) Bin-Salleh created Winin Katidjin Bilya (Living Knowledge Stream), a public artwork that responds to the two Whadjuk-Noongar songlines that run through Curtin’s Bentley campus. His works are integrated into the landscaped courtyard of Curtin’s new School of Design and the Built Environment building.
A series of nodal artworks by internationally acclaimed light and glass artist Warren Langley are located at three key public realm areas within the Exchange precinct. The artworks, fabricated using reflective smart glass, undergoes a distinctive day to night transition. Langley’s Place to Place is a series of works that follows pedestrian routes through the precinct, providing points of interest and surprise along the way. The sculptures create intrigue, spark curiosity, and disrupt the formality of the spaces, embodying a human scale that invites playful interaction.
One of Australia’s leading contemporary artists Janet Laurence has created an artwork that spans the interior foyer of Curtin’s new School of Design and the Built Environment. This essay on deep time exhibits local rocks, minerals, gemstones and crystals, representative of WA’s rich geological story of time, weather, movement and formation.
John Curtin Gallery staff were proud to be involved in the selection and development of the artworks, which will join the impressive public art collection already located on the Curtin campus that is cared for by the Gallery.
Curtin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne said she was delighted to be featuring the works of two prominent Australian artists and an emerging local Noongar artist.
“These public artworks capture WA’s unique history and character, including the traditional knowledge of the world’s oldest continuing culture, offering the wider community a new interpretation of our past, present and future from the perspectives of a range of talented Australian artists,” Professor Hayne said.
Students moved into Curtin’s new Exchange precinct this year, making themselves at home in the 407-room St Catherine’s College and the self-catered options in UniLodge’s new 10-storey, 517-bed Hall of Residence, known as Twin Dolphin Hall.
Both student residences are located near the Nesuto Curtin 60-room boutique hotel, 38 self-contained Zamia Apartments, a grocery store and a range of food and beverage outlets that will open during the year.
The two UniLodge properties within Exchange have been named after the Whadjuk-Nyoongar songlines – ‘The Kujal Kela’ (Twin Dolphin) and ‘Djiridji’ (Zamia) songlines that intersect within the precinct.
For more information about Curtin’s Exchange precinct, visit here.
