Visitors to Sydney flock to the Circular Quay to admire our most celebrated icons - the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, or to jump on a ferry to Manly.
There are colonial-era buildings and a few statues here but there’s little that interprets the area’s complicated history.
This is where Australia’s most important colonisation stories begin.
The Rocks is where the invasion and dispossession of a continent inhabited for an incomprehensible 60,000 years begins. It’s where the story of the transformation of a brutal convict colony that became a prosperous trading economy begins. It’s where the first Chinatown in Sydney was established in the 1850s.
I could continue - there’s lots more.
These are huge ideas in Australian history and they all occurred along a small strip of Sydney Cove - Warrane.
Recently a new sculpture has been installed outside the Museum of Contemporary Art overlooking Sydney Harbour. Ancient Feelings by British sculptor Thomas J Price is a profound piece that invites us to think about things less-seen in history, the media and in public sculpture. It’s a stunning 3 metre bust of a black woman in golden bronze - and already owns the space. It would make a perfect permanent feature here.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Ancient Feelings by Thomas J. Price, MCA Sydney
Photo: Mark Bowyer Ancient Feelings by Thomas J. Price, MCA Sydney- a perfect fit for the sandstone of the MCA
Photo: Mark Bowyer Ancient Feelings by Thomas J. Price, MCA Sydney
I’ve been surveying international travellers over the past four months in Sydney on my history walks and the piece is loved for its beauty and impact. It’s also a perfect complement to the art-deco Sydney sandstone of the MCA.
Ancient Feelings is scheduled to leave this space on the Tallawoladah lawn in April. That’s a shame. Its universal message is perfect for the moment and it’s a perfect visual fit in this storied place.
It’s great for the MCA and it’s great for Sydney. We hope it stays right where it is.
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