Bindi Bindi Dreaming by Wadjuk Noongar artist Sharyn Egan.
Professor Cobie Rudd, ECU's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Regional Futures) and Vice-President welcomed guests in celebration of NAIDOC Week and the opening of the refurbished Student Hub, saying the University was thrilled to have Sharyn's work now holding pride of place in the space.
"The placement of Sharyn's beautiful artwork Bindi Bindi Dreaming is part of ECU's commitment to reconciliation and will be an inspiration to our students to pursue their own dreams," said Professor Rudd.
"Sharyn Egan is a Wadjuk Nyoongar painter and natural fibre weaver and sculptor whose work is held in the collections of the Berndt Museum of Anthropology and the National Museum of Australia, as well as in the Art Gallery of Western Australia, university collections across WA and is a many-times-invited artist for Sculpture by the Sea."
In introducing Wardandi Elder, Gloria Hill, Custodian of the Wardandi Bibbulmun Land who performed a stirring Welcome to Country - Professor Rudd said ECU was proud of its connection to the Wardandi people of the Noongar nation and honoured their connection to the land upon which our ECU South West stands.
Wardandi Elder, Gloria Hill, Custodian of the Wardandi Bibbulmun Land who performed a stirring Welcome to Country.
ECU's Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Students, Equity and Indigenous at Edith Cowan University Professor Braden Hill spoke of how ECU was celebrating this year's NAIDOC themeKeep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud as recognition of the incredible resilience of spirit of our First Nations communities.
""Blak, Loud and Proud" encapsulates the unapologetic celebration of Indigenous identity, empowering us to stand tall in our heritage and assert our place in the modern world - it invites us all to stand in solidarity, amplifying the voices that continue to be silenced." said Professor Hill.
"NAIDOC Week invites all Australians to listen, learn, and engage in meaningful dialogue, fostering a society where the wisdom and contributions of Indigenous peoples are fully valued and respected."
Sharyn Egan's artwork Bindi Bindi Dreaming on the wall of the newly refurbished South West Student Hub.
Clothilde Bullen, ECU's Lead, Cultural Strategy and Development, spoke to guests about the story and significance of Sharyn Egan's artwork Bindi Bindi Dreaming.
"The bindi bindi – meaning butterfly in Noongar – is a totemic creature in Noongar culture, found across the south-west of Western Australia. Boorongurs, or totems for Noongar people function as a reminder of the interconnection between the spiritual, cultural, and physical landscapes, and as an emblem of clan and family, framing roles and responsibilities within Noongar people's kinship groups," said Clothilde.
"In the original work that Sharyn created, she has painted a lake, wedged between the sky and earth, in which the Two Spotted Line Butterfly (Nacabuda Biocellata) – bindi bindi - dances and flutters. Its larger-than-life scale signifies the importance of the bindi bindi to the artist and to the Noongar community.
"The lake depicted is representative of the natural bodies of water across the Swan coastal plain, which prior to colonisation supported Noongar family groups with its abundance of resources. The draining of these lakes across Boorloo, Perth, significantly impacted the ability for Noongar people to live comfortably in these areas.
"The work invites the viewer to think about multi-species relationships and care for environments where human and non-human species cohabit. It encourages us to consider the fragility of the ecosystems that are impacted when land is cleared for housing or mining.
"With the artwork sitting in pride and place in the Student Hub, I encourage you to share the story behind the artwork with each other, staff, and students."
