PUBLIC ART SCREENING

This public artwork Pugin’s Trellis of Marri-Kingia Insects is a graphic cut into aluminium to create a balustrade screen echoing the geometry and aesthetics of Augustus Pugin’s Trellis wallpaper which was popular in domestic Australian residences in the mid-nineteenth century (Historic Houses Trust, nd.).

This design substitutes the English floral motifs for insects of the Marri-Kingia ecology, to contribute to visual decolonisation, by replacing the colonialist's notion of what was deemed a pleasing environment with the endemic insects to celebrate the rugged reality.

Special thanks to Dr. Noel Nannup OAM, cultural advisor for his support and guidance on this project. Dr. Noel Nannup, respected Aboriginal elder, and ECU’s Elder in Residence was consulted during the creation of these works to ensure the works respected the land’s traditional owners and their cultural property and knowledge.