Three large dome-like woven structures have been installed in a seating area at Westpac’s Sydney headquarters as a physical manifestation of the bank’s Reconciliation Action Plan. Conceived and designed by Yuwaalaraay woman Lucy Simpson, these “Reflection Pods” are as part of the bank’s new interiors by the design team at Geyer, who worked with Simpson to realise her concepts.
Initially Simpson had envisioned that local artists would weave the Reflection Pods, but in the end, the structures were woven by artists from Elcho Island Arts and Milingimbi Art and Culture thanks to a collaboration with Australian design brand Koskela. Koskela already has a history of working with the artists from Elcho Island Arts on their Yuta Badayala series of light shades.
The artist statement from Helen Ganalmirriwuy, Susan Balbunga, Helen Milminydjarrk, Zelda Wuigir, Elizabeth Rukarriwuy and Abigail Mundjala refers to a fruitful partnership between the two art centres: “Weaving has a long history in Yurrwi (Milingimbi) and the recent large-scale project in collaboration with Koskela brought dharrwa yolgnu (lots of people) together. Some of us are family and some Yolngu (people) we didn’t know, some of us have been weaving for a long time and a few are just starting to learn, we are from different clans and live in different camps but all of us are working together.”
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