Bidjigal

Badu Gili: Healing Spirit, illuminates the world-famous sails of the Sydney Opera House with a dynamic projection displaying the works of celebrated First Nations artists, the late Bidjigal elder Esme Timbery and two of her children, Marilyn Russell and Steven Russell, and artist Joseca Mokahesi Yanomami of the Yanomami people. Badu Gili: Healing Spirit will appear on the Opera House’s Eastern Bennelong sails five times a night from sunset.

The project marks the second year of a creative partnership between the Biennale of Sydney, the Sydney Opera House and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. The powerful projection of First Nations storytelling has been animated by Vandal with a soundscape by James Henry, bringing together Indigenous artists from Bidjigal (Australia) and Yanomami (the Amazon’s largest Indigenous group) for the first time on Australia’s most iconic canvas.

Inspired by shellwork crafted by Esme Timbery and Marilyn Russell, prints and weavings by Steven Russell, and Joseca Mokahesi Yanomami’s drawings of the spirits and landscapes of the remote Yanomami forest, the new six-minute digital animation explores rituals and the bonds of cultural and familial connection forged through art and storytelling.

Learn more about Badu Gili: Healing Spirit here

Continuing an artistic and family tradition Marilyn Russell’s shellworks are a testament to the legacy of her mother, Esme Timbery, as well as that of the Bidjigal people. Living and working in La Perouse Marilyn learnt shellwork from her mother Esme, who learnt from her mother Queen Emma Timbery before that. Marilyn’s work, which is both a connection to the past as well as a process of healing, is held in multiple gallery collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.

Supported in partnership between the Biennale of Sydney, Sydney Opera House and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.