Edwina Green: First Nations Public Art, 2025

Edwina Green, babanh-u laangi-yuyuk-a (Mother of Pearl), 2025
Concrete and stainless steel

Commissioned by Incinerator Gallery and Moonee Valley City Council (MVCC), in partnership with Agency Projects for The Playground Project Melbourne in 2025, this artwork honours the knowledge held within Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country and inspired by its history and continual health of land and waterways.

Incinerator Gallery invited proposals from First Nations artists and collectives responding to themes of childhood, play, togetherness, and renewal, while honouring the cultural and environmental significance of the Maribyrnong River to Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung First Peoples for over 40,000 years.

The project is generously funded by Victoria State Government through Emergency Recovery Victoria’s Community Recovery Hubs grand program, which was introduced in response to the 2022 flood event. 

Selected by an independent First Nations-led panel of six arts industry leaders, the successful recipient is Edwina Green, a Trawlwoolway multidisciplinary artist based in Naarm/Melbourne. Green’s concept was selected for its artistic and technical merit, strong connection to place, and recognition of children as cultural citizens.

Selection Panel:

Jefa Greenaway, Principal, Greenaway Architects
Leila Gurruwiwi, Cultural Liaison and Public Programs Lead, Agency Projects
Maya Hodge, Lardil Curator and Writer
Myles Russell-Cooke, Artistic Director and CEO, Australian Centre of Contemporary Art 

Echoing the shifting contours and underwater ecosystems of the nearby Maribyrnong River, the sculpture’s form is a land-based invitation for audiences to consider movement, storytelling, and connection to Country. Its textured surface evokes the layered pattern of an oyster shell: a symbol of sustenance, strength and deep time.

Oysters are significant to coastal and saltwater mobs and carry the history of Country in their shells – the tides, the seasons, and generations of gatherings along the shoreline. Children are invited to explore the subtle textures of this sculpture with their hands and feet, engaging their senses and imagination through direct interaction with form and story.

“I’m incredibly honoured and excited to bring this sculpture to life. Creating a work that invites children to play, imagine, and connect with Country is something I hope to continue to embed in my practice. This commission has allowed me to honour the cultural significance of the Maribyrnong River, which has held me for most of my life, while contributing something joyful, grounding, and enduring to public spaces. I can’t wait to watch how little ones engage with my work.”

– Edwina Green

Public Events

On Friday 4 July 2025 the project is presented for the first time by Edwina Green and Leila Gurruwiwi (Agency Projects) at the Incinerator x MADA Talk Series: Art & Play. The conversation focusses on the concept and scope of the commission within the framework of The Playground Project Melbourne.

In September 2025, the artwork is installed at Incinerator Gallery as the final new public art  commission for The Playground Project Melbourne, where it remains on display for Summer 2025/26.

In May 2026, spearheading  MVCC’s annual Reconciliation Week, the sculpture is relocated permanently along the Maribyrnong River in Aberfeldie on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country.

It will become MVCC’s most ambitious permanent public art commission to date and the first to commemorate First Nations’ Knowledge, Culture and Country.

Credits:

Concept and Design
Edwina Green

Production
Arts Eleven, Management
Lump Studio, Fabrication

Project Management
MJ Flamiano, Public Art Officer, Incinerator Gallery MVCC
Leila Gurruwiwi, Cultural Liaison and Public Programs Lead, Agency Projects 
Jade Niklai, Head of Visual and Public Art, Incinerator Gallery MVCC