We are proud to have worked with the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) to plan, curate and deliver public art place markers now installed at key sites on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).
In our approach, we noted QYAC’s imperative to extend public places with stories and ideas about country, and which actively address the preservation of local and global ecosystems. These new artworks and Jandai language signage harness the creative capacity of the Quandamooka community with guidance from Elders, eliciting memory, and documenting and archiving cultural narratives.
Delvene Cockatoo-Collins’ Eugaries are installed near the Gorge Walk trail head at Mulumba (Point Lookout) and feature three oversized eugarie shells that symbolise people coming together.
Belinda Close’s Mirringinpah acknowledges the sea eagle and is located at Cabarita Park, Pulan (Amity Point), depicting the eagle soaring in search of food. Belinda explains: “It is a storyline of the sea eagle alerting the Quandamooka people to the start of the mullet season.”
Quandamooka Songman, Joshua Walker’s Kabul speaks of the yuri totem ancestor for the Quandamooka People (Kabul – the carpet snake) who is the protector of all the creatures of the land. As Joshua explains,
“When you look at the Kabul’s shed skin in the sunlight, you can see the colours of the rainbow in this otherwise transparent skin, revealing why the Kabul is form of the Jahgon Rainbow Serpent. Every clan in Australia has a Rainbow Serpent residing in their Country, and for the Quandamooka people, their Jahgon resides in Gabura Blue Lake and Bummiera Brown Lake”.
These three contemporary artworks collectively draw on Quandamooka culture, its ancient storylines, and offer visitors and residents an opportunity to learn about the ancestral connections between people and places on Minjerribah.