At 5.5 metres high, Badjgama Ngunda Whuliwulawala, meaning Black Women Rising in the Dharwal language, is a bronze sculpture of an Aboriginal woman rising powerfully from water.
Page, an award-winning Dharawal and Yuin artist, developed the work in conversation with curatorial and cultural advisor Rhoda Roberts, culture and heritage expert Rowena Welsh-Jarrett and members of the Sydney Coastal Aboriginal Women’s Group, made up of more than 20 women from La Perouse and Redfern.
The Sydney Coastal Aboriginal Women’s Group, made up of members from La Perouse and Redfern, helped guide the process for Badjgama Ngunda Whuliwulawala.
“I wanted to do a woman coming out of the earth, but it had to … represent all women,” Page said.
The figure’s design also represented the deep connection Aboriginal people have to Country.
Page wanted to create a sculpture that embodied a figure coming through layers of steel, glass and concrete, while being both a part of and extensions of Country.
“What we’re really marking is our survival, our continued connection to Country, and also our female power in a white man’s world.”