Oyster Sculptures & Soundscapes Will Transform a Sydney Foreshore Walk With First Nations Storytelling

New oyster sculptures by Yuwaalaraay designer Lucy Simpson will be installed in prime locations around Sydney Harbour as part of Yananurala, a 9km foreshore walk that highlights historically significant Aboriginal sites, people, and stories.

The installations depict clusters of mud flat oyster forms which were once prevalent in the harbour and will be accompanied by soundscapes, designed to invoke connection to Country.

‘These installations are a celebration of Country, story, and relationships. They provide an invitation to connect to continuing ways of knowing and relating to Country,’ designer Lucy Simpson said.

‘People can sit, stand, touch, and connect with these works, hold conversations with each other and with time, and tune into Country and reflect on the deep layers of history and stories at these sites.’

Yananurala trail at Barangaroo

Where will the oyster sculptures be?

The oyster artworks are the latest component of Yananurala, the harbourside walk from Pirrama/Pyrmont to Wallamool/Woolloomooloo.

They’ll be installed at the water’s edge in locations like Yurong/Mrs Macquarie’s Point, the Woolloomooloo Bay foreshore, Cockle Bay, and the headland at Barangaroo.

Designer Lucy Simpson said, ‘What I loved about these oyster shell forms is a layering of time embodied in their shapes; you can read their experience and memory. Their growth rings are worn and aged as they’ve moved with the tides and rested in the sun.’

‘They also come from this first point of contact at Kamay/Botany Bay, a significant meeting point where histories collide, intertwine, and sit atop one another. This place and these forms are complex and layered.’

Barangaroo Headland

When will the oyster sculptures be installed?

Simpson’s design for the sculptures was selected following an open callout for ideas for the current phase of the Yananurala project. Development applications for the installations will be submitted later this year, and the sculptures are expected to be installed in 2026.

In the meantime, the City of Sydney will continue working with its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel to gather local First Nations narratives of place to share alongside the sculptures.

Images thanks to City of Sydney and Doug and Wolf