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Art Activation & Artist Services
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Lead Artist: Lucy Simpson
Producer: Sarah Weston
Music, Digital Video, Nardi Simpson
Fabricators:
University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Kurrajong Seed Pods made from recycled hops.
Ben Baldwin (Timber Shelves)
Elise Cakebread (Bespoke Cushions)
Ryan Foote (Emu Eggs)
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Museum of Contemporary Art
For the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, designer and artist Lucy Simpson (Yuwaalaraay) created a major new commission that we were proud to help bring to life. Rooted in story, material and deep connection to Country, the project extended Simpson’s practice into new architectural and spatial forms, offering audiences a powerful encounter with living culture.
The Bella Jackson Commission at the Museum of Contemporary Art champions ambitious new work by Australian artists, with a special attention to creating meaningful experiences for neurodiverse children and young adults.
For this program, we worked with Yuwaalaraay designer and artist Lucy Simpson to develop a major new commission that invited audiences to engage with Country and story through touch, texture, and material.
Our role was to support the project across design development, fabrication, installation and delivery. Working in close collaboration with Simpson and the MCA curatorial team, we translated her vision into technical drawings and material specifications, ensuring every detail carried the integrity of her practice. We coordinated with specialist fabricators to resolve complex construction processes, and oversaw installation on site to guarantee precision and care.
Beyond the physical work, the process was grounded in cultural protocol and respect. Visiting Simpson’s Country, we listened to the stories and knowledge that shaped the final two videos for the MCA. Capturing moments within Country and working with the artist to craft a looped ‘slowed time’ video creating intimate perspectives and connections.
Through this collaboration, the MCA project became more than an artwork — it is a continuation of story and cultural transmission, a living expression of Yuwaalaraay knowledge shared with the broader public.
Film: Captured on the flood plains of Yuwaalaraay Country, the two large screens amplify the rhythms and the vastness of the landscape through slow motion video. The movement of water filmed at Narran Lakes (claypan country), the subtle direction of wind through the grasses and trees. The audio crafted by Nardi Simpson presents an accompanying soundscape (ngurrambaa - meaning special family lands / spirit place) featuring the sounds of Country, which slowly give way to a composed arrangement with spoken word and language by Composer Nardi Simpson.
Nardi Simpson is a First Nations, Yuwaalaraay storyteller, composer and singer/song- writer based in Sydney. She is a multi-award-winning novelist for her books Song of the Crocodile (2000) and the belburd (2024) both published by Hatchette Australia. She is a postdoctoral researcher on two ARC-funded projects at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, focussed on Yuwaalaraay music and women’s knowledge around sacred waterways, women’s creation and healing.