Place to reflect
by Carla Caruso
It is a particularly poignant time for a space, recognising the plight of Indigenous Australians, to be unveiled in Your Park Lands.
Although, it took about a decade for the project to come to fruition.
A Place of Reflection – which was officially launched on 14 September, 2023 – is a dedicated space in the city for members of the Stolen Generations to reflect and connect.
The $265,000 project was jointly funded by the City of Adelaide and the State Government. The space is located in a pocket park, next to Tandanya in the East End; part of Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka (Park 14).
At the centre of the site is a bronze sculpture, created by renowned Ngarrindjerri weaver Aunty Yvonne Koolmatrie and Adelaide designer Karl Meyer. Bronze castings were made from Aunty Yvonne’s traditional weaving, recapturing the texture of the natural fibre she uses.
The artwork depicts a life-sized mother figure, cradling her arms – her body posture, crossed legs, and bowed head suggesting the void left by a missing child.
The artwork’s low seating suggests being close to the earth, while the landscaping includes native reeds and rushes, connecting to culture and rejuvenation. Photo: Karl Meyer.
Aunty Yvonne said that it was a spot for the nation to participate and reflect on the past and understand the pain of the Stolen Generations.
“It’s also a place for the stolen generation and for the future generations to heal and feel safe, where they can share stories, and feel together with the ones they lost or were taken away from.”
The Place of Reflection was constructed over four months, following significant stakeholder engagement from several First Nations organisations over the last few years.
A steel Coolamon, on a granite boulder, is also mounted at the site, which can be used for fire, smoking and ceremonial activities during events such as Sorry Day.
The entire space has been carefully designed and landscaped to highlight the important links between the natural world and cultural lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Photo: Catherine Leo.
Collaborating artist Karl Meyer said he really enjoyed “the privilege of sharing and working with Yvonne [and] hearing her stories”.
“She’s coming up to her 80th birthday, and she’s literally got firsthand stories [of witnessing Stolen Generation acts as a child] that you just go, ‘Wow, this is in living memory stuff.’
“She has a personal story of one family basically being told that they’re heading off to the circus and to get dressed up and they’re loaded off [in a van] and never seen again … Stories like that just bring you to tears.”
Reconnecting with her cultural weaving helped Aunty Yvonne through the grieving process when she lost her eldest son. Photo: Karl Meyer.
Karl said what he most learned from the project is that “the impact of [the Stolen Generations] has been intergenerational and is still ongoing”. “I think that’s the notion that the consultation process identified for me – this is not past, it’s still present for a lot of people.”
Adding: “Yvonne’s grandchildren’s feet are cast into the concrete, so that they come back to the mother figure. That was, for her, quite personal in terms of intergenerational marks of family.”
The project collaboration for Karl and Yvonne went so well, they’re now working on another, seperate artwork together for the new Flinders University Health and Medical Research Building – this time, a suspended work indoors.
Main photo: Cassidy Holland.