Goolumwin

Ridge View SHS, 2023
Competition Winning Entry
8m Tall Kinetic Wind Sculpture, Bronze, Wind, Timber
With Jon Tarry, Sharyn Egan, and Cameron Robbins

The presence of a breeze is an intangible constant. The presence of air movement is known in overt and subtle ways. Air may be observed through the shaking of tree limbs, branches, and leaves, across fields of grasses, and or on the surface of water are examples.

Even the gentlest breeze has its origins, like the roots of a giant tree, far away in the oceans and landforms. All Winds are a result of the heat differentials created through the rotation of the Earth, night and day.

Atmospherics are vital living forces in nature’s ecosystem. These phenomena carry and release water, distribute fine pollens and seeds, enable birds to migrate, fan fires, and move oxygen and CO2 throughout the globe. Wind is a marker of seasonal shift and time of the day. In this region of Range View, afternoons are marked by the arrival of the sea breeze – the Fremantle Doctor. These are the strong prevailing winds of one of the windiest metropolises in the world, second only to Chicago.

For indigenous cultural the site connects through in many ways through the phenomena of effect through the winds. The site is defined as a wetland on the Yarragadee aquifer, a deep sub-surface lake system that runs parallel to the coastline and is described as the region’s ‘second shore’. These lake systems present a cultural connection of the many layers within cultures.