Nura

Immerse yourself in a soul-warming glow. This mass installation of 150 colour-changing light pillars in Barangaroo Reserve presents a contemporary imagining of dendroglyphs, designs carved in the bark of living trees.

Nura means ‘place’ or ‘country’ in Gadigal language and Indigenous artist Warwick Keen draws inspiration from traditional South Eastern Australian tree carvings. Here, his etched designs form a series of complementary patterns. Each pillar highlights a First Nations memory in intricate detail. Seen together – in a first for Vivid Sydney – they form an expansive outdoor gallery of illuminated Indigenous art.

Barangaroo Reserve is rich in Aboriginal and cultural history, named after a Cammeraygal woman who was a powerful voice in the early days of colonial Sydney. The reserve remains an area of great significance for Australians across all cultures. Warwick's contemporary dendroglyphs acknowledge the First Nations people who have lived in this country for tens of thousands of years.