UNITING A NATION
11 Mar 2015
Terrance Plowright’s latest sculpture is both a tribute to nature and a celebration of 60,000 years of Australian nationhood.
Terrance Plowright’s work ‘Uniting a Nation’, a 15m high contemporary aluminium sculpture, commissioned by Mr Basil Sellers and gifted by him to the people of Australia, is nearing completion.
The sculpture is both a tribute to nature and a celebration of 60,000 years of Australian nationhood. It consists of a number of symbolic layers: at the base, forming petals, are boomerangs symbolising Australian Indigene, while waratahs are used to represent the seed of European settlement in Sydney that would lead to an expanded nation.
The second layer is lattice work symbolising the woven basket/fish trap used by Indigenous people for gathering food/fish. The central structure represents the sail of the first fleet, and the wave symbolises everyone who has crossed the oceans to Australia.
A sphere, representing Western astronomy, sits on an ellipse with 880 white dots/holes that symbolise the Aboriginal Dreamtime. Finally, the Southern Cross sits atop the sail, representing that which unites us all.
A number of prominent sites in Sydney are currently being assessed by the state government. The plan is to transport the 4.5 tonne sculpture via helicopter, with an installation date set for September 2015.
