The Best Public Art in Sydney

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The largest city in Australia, Sydney was the original site of the first British colony on the continent. A storied place with a colourful and rocky past, these days it is a bustling metropolis that showcases a wealth of people, culture, history, art, business and much more.

One way the culture, history and diversity of Sydney have been best represented is through the impressive array and amount of public art on display in both permanent and temporary installations.

Reasons to book a flight to Sydney abound, and its world-class art scene and museums definitely deserve top billing. However, if you really want to explore the history, culture and stories of Australia in a new way, why not let a tour of public art light your way? From sound installations to light shows and activism, Sydney’s public art is its own reason to visit.

In Between Two Worlds

Located in Chinatown, Jason Wing’s “In Between Two Worlds” showcases both Chinese and Aboriginal themes. By day, Little Hay Street, Kimber Lane and Factory Street are overshadowed by blue clouds and silver figures. At night, these same figures are lit up — spiritual beings from another world. In both Chinese and Aboriginal culture, elements like water, stone, fire and air have their own spirits just like animals and people. Likewise, people are made up of these elements. The clouds and figures represent the interconnectedness of all things — including the past, present and future. “In Between Two Worlds” has three main components within it: wall murals, floor murals and the 30 suspended and lit figures. You can see the installation any time of day or night in Chinatown, but to get the full experience, you need to see it both in broad daylight and in the dark of night.

Forgotten Songs

A sound and sculpture installation located above Angel Place, “Forgotten Songs” is a commemoration of the songs of fifty different bird varieties that once made their homes in the Sydney area, back before the time of the first European settlement. The birdcalls echo through a thick canopy of birdcages, and the songs change from day to night with the daytime birds’ songs ceasing at dusk when the night-time birds’ calls begin. An installation about what the area has lost and is losing, Australia has 129 species of native bird that have either gone extinct or are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss from human activity. Some of the birdcalls include:

• Golden Whistler

• Superb Fairy Wren

• White-throated Treecreeper

• Barn Owl

• White-throated Nightjar

Walking Tours

The city of Sydney provides a number of walking tours of its public art that have been professionally curated. Each one takes between one and two hours to complete. Some of the options include:

• Sculpture Walk

• City Art in the Summer Walking Tour

• Aboriginal Art

Aspire

Designed by artist Warren Langley and installed in 2004, “Aspire” marks the activism efforts of the local community when citizens rose up to protest the city’s plan to demolish housing along Fig Street due to urban expansion and transportation needs. “Aspire” is a glowing forest of high-density polyethylene trees that support the massive freeway that passes overhead. The light increases safety to the area, and the trees hold the freeway at bay, keeping the houses beneath it and their inhabitants safe from the very development that almost brought about their demise.

Future Plans

The city of Sydney has a lot of public art in its future. Both temporary and permanent installations are planned, and calls for artists and designers are continually going out. A couple of the more exciting installations on the docket are:

• Public Art for the George Street Spine and the East-West Connectors in Sydney’s City Centre. One of the most significant public art efforts ever undertaken in all of Australia, let alone in Sydney, the transformation of the entire City Centre is slated to take 10 years and will provide a completely new space for people, plants and art.

• The Drying Green. Working toward a sustainable vision of urban renewal, the space at the Drying Green will be in the midst of a place where living, working, shopping, playing, eating and community events take place.

The next time you travel to Sydney, take some time to wander amongst its public art. As much a connection to its multiple pasts as it is to the hope of its singular future, the art of that city holds the kinds of stories that can keep a people on track as they seek to carve out a life for themselves and one another in an uncertain future.

Sydney Opera house image by Luke Zeme Photography from Flickr’s Creative Commons.

Forgotten Songs image by iansand from Flickr’s Creative Commons.