New South Wales artist Warwick Keen has just completed the biggest artwork of his life and his canvas is a Sydney Harbour ferry.
Keen, from the state's south coast, has incorporated the place names of clans living in and around the harbour for a new wrap on a cruise ferry called Ocean Dreaming 2.
"The words that are written on the side of the ferry are relative to the clan groups that lived — and still do — [around] Sydney Harbour," he said.
Keen's work — using the ancient Indigenous art practice of dendroglyph — sets the scene for Aboriginal whale-watching experiences with tribal warrior and Aboriginal sky dreaming experiences.
Keen — who for 20 years has taught at TAFE NSW and curated large-scale Indigenous-only exhibitions — said the creation of an iconic Sydney symbol such as a ferry had everything to do with reconciliation and inclusion of his people.
"To be able to now produce something that signposts Aboriginal visual art and culture is really good in my career development," said the proud Gomeroi man.
In late 2019, Keen was approached by the NRMA to participate in a project celebrating its centenary.
"I started working on it in 2019, had everything sorted by February 2020 and then COVID came," Keen said.
"They all went home to work and so did the art organisation I was working with, Urban Art Projects. So, the project was shelved for 12 months..
What's in a name?
The fast ferry is emblazoned with Keen's trademarked wave designs, using the Aboriginal art practice of dendroglyph, a technique originally used to carve trees.
"The wave designs are taken from carved tree designs, done in the way that Aboriginal people initially carved, years ago.
"It's not a practice that happens in south-east Australia now as such.
"I've been including text within those patterns for probably 13 or 14 years, so it's become a bit of a trademark of mine," he said.
Keen said Rhoda Roberts from Brisbane-based Urban Art Projects was the cultural advisor, working as an intermediary between himself and the NRMA.
"She actually sourced those words via the Metropolitan Lands Council and got approval for words, those words, to be out there in public because there are different organisations that have different words and sometimes the words don't match up," he said.
He said there were Aboriginal people living close to the water in Sydney and people out west, so language usage could become quite complex.
Acknowledging First Nation's people
He said the colours he used were traditional.
"There's the red ochre, yellow ochre, black and white.
"I did [earlier] colour versions but the one that got the nod was the one floating out on the harbour now," he said.
Applying the wrap to the fast ferry required a lengthy process of cleaning and removing detritus.
"They had to strip it back and clean it off, which was a lengthy preparation," he said.
"To have produced a design that signposts and acknowledges Aboriginal culture in and around Sydney Harbour gives pure acknowledgment to the First Nations people that still live in Sydney and, traditionally, lived there before anybody else arrived.
"That, to me, is really significant."
Celebrating rich, vibrant culture
NMRA's Marie Ferrett said the motoring and transport organisation added the marine business to their portfolio in 2018 and were using this project to celebrate the organisation's commitment to reconciliation.
"We saw our centenary as an opportunity to use it as a spotlight, to talk about our commitment towards a better future, which for us meant inclusion and in this instance, reconciliation," Marie Ferrett said.
"It reminds people that the Aboriginal culture has been around for [more than] 60,000 years, so there's a lot of rich history there and some wonderful stories to be told."
Ocean Dreaming 2 will ferry tourists on Aboriginal experience cruises but will also be seen by all Sydney Harbour users, both recreational and those commuting to and from work.
