Jarni McGuire’s offering for the Activation Artwork explores three pillars of cultural ceremony: place, coming together, and celebration.
Drawing inspiration from the Two Brothers Dreaming story, the artist was evoked by memories of her father dancing and holding their beendee beendee (dance sticks). During dancing, everyone is digging their feet into the ground, and there is a tangible vibration that can be felt through the body and wirrin (spirit). This experience encapsulates the essence of ceremony, place, and celebration – kwop wirrin (good spirit). As the story begins, the two brothers fall from the sky and onto the ground; the ground plane impact captures the impact they made when they fell, and as they stand up, their journey through Boodjar (Country) begins too.
The artwork upscales these traditional dance sticks through the form of sculpture. The patterns engraved into the beendee beendee depict this story, while the white accents pull into focus the significance and continuity of celebration in Noongar culture; a site specific reference to the artwork location, which is where historically, white ochre was traded.
