Narrarrang Ngarri is a 50-metre-long suspended artwork, created by Wadawurrung artist Kait James. The artwork is above the new Amphitheatre at the Skeleton Creek Aqueduct and can be viewed from the Federation Trail.
Narrarrang Ngarri pays homage to the deep cultural significance of the Sheoke to the Bunurong, Boonwurrung, and Wadawurrung people. It is conceptualised as a fusion of natural history, cultural reverence, and contemporary art, serving as a bridge between past and present, and between different mobs.
An ancient Sheoke forest once grew throughout the western Kulin Nations, serving as the original green spine, like the pipeline, it connected communities. Amplified by its leafy canopy, the wind whispered news and stories, carrying songs from one mob to another, fostering a profound sense of shared heritage and dialogue among the Kulin peoples. This work, alongside re-planted Sheokes close to this site, offers us an opportunity to consider the confluence of infrastructure, culture and the natural world.
The artwork focuses on the ethereal qualities of the Sheoke leaves. Imagined as an elongated wind chime, this installation consists of metal leaves suspended along the pipeline walkway near Skeleton Creek Aqueduct, creating an immersive environment for visitors. The leaves, designed in three segments to capture the delicate structure of natural Sheoke foliage, are crafted from thin, cast tubes, allowing them to interlock, move and make subtle sound (and whisper) with the wind.
Narrarrang Ngarri is commissioned by Wyndham City Council in partnership with Deakin University’s Public Art Commission and Greening the Pipeline as part of the renewal of the Federation Trail. Greening the Pipeline is a partnership between Melbourne Water, Greater Western Water, the Department of Transport, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Wyndham City Council and is supported by Greening the West.