Balga Souvenirs

Sharyn Egan and Anne Neil

Title: Balga Souvenirs

Artist/s: Sharyn Egan and Anne Neil

Year: 2024

Site: Perth Station

Location Detail: Group of three sculptures are installed in the forecourt to the east of the main station entry.  The fourth sculpture is installed just to south and west of the Horseshoe Bridge underpass leading from the forecourt to the Yagan Square entry to the station.

Medium: Aluminium

Description: 

This location was one of many swamps drained in the 1840s to make way for the first Perth Railway Station. An abundance of Balgas grew in and around here and over time were removed to make way for the expansion of Perth.

Many Balgas were used to create turned vases, lamps and bowls, popular in the 1970s. Hundreds of these objects were created with little acknowledgement of the significance of this iconic plant and its importance in Aboriginal spirituality and daily life. Over many years artist Sharyn Egan has collected these turnings as a way of reclaiming them into Noongar custodianship. The resulting sculptures are modelled on the drawings made by a woodworker before turning the timber.

In this context, located on the site of the previous Craft Council offices, gallery and shop, the sculptures create a connection between the various past lives of the site – as a gathering and meeting ground for Noongar people, as the home of craft in WA, to now - a place for convergence and transition.