Badu Gili: Celestial (2023)
A vibrant projection featuring the works of two renowned First Nations artists, Gail Mabo and Nikau Hindin, Badu Gili: Celestial is projected onto the Eastern Bennelong sails of the Sydney Opera House every night, with screenings occurring every 30 minutes from sunset.
This installation of powerful First Nations storytelling has been created by the Biennale of Sydney, in partnership with the Sydney Opera House, and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, with animation by Yarnology and soundscape by Nigel Westlake, Te Kahureremoa Taumata and Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes. The six-minute projection featured the work of Meriam artist, Gail Mabo from Mer Island in the Torres Strait, and international First Nations artist, Nikau Hindin, a Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi woman from Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Using Mabo’s star maps constructed out of bamboo and cotton, and Hindin’s Māori aute (bark cloth), the digital animation explored the ancient practices of celestial navigation across two cultures, with vibrant symbols and sounds bringing to life the stories of our skies and waterways. As a celebration of the rich history and contemporary vibrancy of Australia’s First Nations culture, Badu Gili continues the traditions of Bennelong Point, formerly known as Tubowgule (‘where the knowledge waters meet’), a gathering place for community, ceremony and storytelling for thousands of years.
Meet the artists
Gail Mabo
Meriam Mir, Mer Island, Torres Strait. Language group: Piadram
Gail Mabo is a Meriam artist from Mer Island in the Torres Strait. Her multidisciplinary practice stretches from dance to visual arts and is always grounded in Indigenous cultural knowledges. Mabo’s star maps, constructed out of bamboo and cotton, demonstrate her people’s complex understanding of celestial navigation and have come to define her artistic practice.
Image credit: Erin Ricardo
Nikau Hindin
Ngai Tūpoto, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi
Nikau Hindin is a contemporary Māori artist deeply engaged in the renewal of the Māori aute (bark cloth) making tradition in Aotearoa New Zealand. Unlike other bark lineages across Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (The Great Ocean), the Māori bark cloth technique that Hindin employs was last practiced in Aotearoa more than a century ago when the paper mulberry tree that is the main source of bark was almost made extinct.
Including motifs from Māori culture as well as other designs, architecture, and textile traditions, Hindin also uses the bark as an instrument to express another Indigenous technological lineage, the kites or manu. Manu means both ‘kite’ and ‘bird’ in Māori, and while often used for recreation, they were also used for divination, communication, and as a guide to new auspicious lands to settle on.
Image credit: Holly Burgess