In 2020, Apparatus and Lendlease worked together on Curtin University’s new School of Design and the Built Environment in Bentley. Lendlease approached Apparatus to develop a collaborative project working with Aboriginal artists that could action both organisation’s Elevate Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP).
The result was Winin Katidjin Bilya (Living Knowledge Stream); a project that provides a unique opportunity to action reconciliation ambitions, and leave a legacy that respects the traditional owners and the history and culture of the site. The project was process driven, with time and space given to the development of the concepts and stories that underpin them.
The material was built on in a highly collaborative process integrating Whadjuk Noongar cultural katidjin (knowledge) into the landscape design using public art as an interpretive tool. The project involved an emerging Whadjuk Noongar artist, being mentored throughout the project by a group of collaborators with diverse skills including Whadjuk Noongar Cultural Advisors, Landscape Architects, Concrete Specialist, Metalwork Specialist and a Lawyer.
Winin Katidjin Bilya is a public art feature comprised of a ground plane artwork and a metal ribbon in the School of Design and the Built Environment courtyard.
The ground plane artwork interprets the groundwater aquifer locally within Curtin, which forms a discreet system that discharges south-west to the Canning River. Traversing the Academic Heart of the campus, the Kujal Kela (Twin Dolphin) Songline follows this underground movement of water and Living Indicators mark the expression of the near-surface (1-15 m maximum below ground level) abundant water reservoir, in this setting most notably via larger diameter trees.
Insitu exposed aggregate concrete paving adds dimension to the motifs used throughout the artwork, while the exposed aggregate maintains a design consistency with the terrazzo features inside the building, extending into the courtyard.
