Emergence

Burswood, WA, 2024
8m tall, 20m long, stainless steel, water, light
With Jon Tarry

The artwork, ‘Emergence’, acknowledges the multiple layers of the site as a place of significance for all people who experience the engaging qualities of nature. At this water
source where the river loops back and forth, there are significant connections with the culture of Indigenous peoples past, present, and emerging. The Swan River, Derbarl Yerrigan meanders across the coastal plane at this ‘The Point’, is where salt water and fresh waters meet, inviting gatherings at freshwater springs that offer sustenance. Water sources carry great significance as places of contemplation and regeneration.

Throwing a stone into still waters results in concentric waves emanating from the center and decreasing with time and distance. These ideas are given sculptural form where water and spatial/material construction merge. The outcome is a unique sculptural water feature where the water appears to have modeled the ground form.

Below the surface, the Yarragadee Aquifer is an underground water system running parallel to the coast being described as Western Australia’s second shoreline. The aquifer is visible on the surface through the lake, Lake Monger, Bibra Lake, and many others. This response expresses the idea of the springs as an interconnected source of life and culture in this place.

Beginning with a source where water emerges each pool extends from the center creating a series of pools that spread and connect. In the center of the main area, the
gesture of emergence is given sculptural form as it wells from within. The water flows from the spring source in one pool and then flows from one into another in sequence as gravity allows the shallow stream of water to pool and move from a slightly higher point to a lower point. The connecting ring pattern implies a convergence of rippling in the surface of water created by the force of water moving upwards, like light waves converging.