Two years after the Art Gallery of NSW’s new $344 million building opened, the project’s final art commission, by acclaimed First Nations artist Jonathan Jones, is accessible to the public.
On Thursday, hoardings quietly came down on the sandstone public pathways of the “living” artwork which sits between the gallery’s old and new buildings – though its official opening will take place next year.
Jones’ bíal gwiyúŋo (the fire is not yet lighted) is built on the concrete roof of a city motorway, the Eastern Distributor.Credit: Steven Siewert
Jones’ bíal gwiyúŋo (the fire is not yet lighted) is built on the concrete roof of a city motorway, the Eastern Distributor.
It’s more than a two-hectare garden; the work aims to give expression to the traditions of the world’s oldest living culture.
Within its superstructure, the “living” artwork has been planted with local and regionally significant trees and native grasses – kangaroo grass, gadi/grass tree and banksia – that require fire to thrive and propagate.
Consistent with Indigenous fire management practices, the planted grasses will be seeded and controlled by “cool” fires during the early dry season under the gallery’s activities program, which is integral to the artwork itself. From the star-shaped lawn amphitheatre there will be a rotating roster of gatherings and festivals.
The gardens are technically known as hanging gardens.Credit: Steven Siewert
Once the kangaroo grasses mature, further work will be undertaken to prepare the site for its first cultural burn, which will take place seasonally from then on, involving Indigenous communities.
The engineering and technical challenges of building this living landscape over the Eastern Distributor, and allowing for such cool burns to take place metres from buildings that house priceless masterpieces, are alleged to have pushed costs, covered by private donations, well beyond $14 million, several sources said.
