Recently, Kingman was brought on board by Penelope Forlano from Forlano Design to collaborate with Professor Reena Tiwari and Renee Parnell of Curtin University to complete the design drawings, construct, manufacture, produce and install for a bespoke artwork piece called “Limen: at the fence”. This piece, is an internally illuminated 3D exhibition structure, which has been created in dedication to the kith and kin of The Stolen Generation, and is currently on display at the State Library of Western Australia.
The piece itself, tells the story of three Stolen Generation survivors. If you look closely between the aluminium cut silhouettes, you can read the words told by Edith DeGiambattista, Tonji Hansen and Tim Flowers. Embedded with their stories, this truly unique installation provides a space for the survivors to share their narratives and memories from their institutionalization at mission sites with the public, at the place they spent their years of childhood feeling lost, isolated, traumatized, and stolen.
“The exhibition aims to encourage empathy, provides an alternative view of the Stolen Generations experience, and holds a hope that Indigenous and non-Indigenous people of Australia will hold hands and cross over the fence.” Stolen Generations Immersive Hub – Curtin University.
At Kingman, we pay our respects to the elders past and present, and acknowledge the Noongar people and the Wadjuk country where the WA State library is honoured to be located. Curtin University’s Reena Tiwari, Chamila Subhasinghe, Rozhan Imad and the MissionsConnect team at the Stolen Generations Immersive Hub Curtin University created the concept and design drawings for this piece, and Kingman delivered on their vision with the guidance of Penelope Forlano by combining the knowledge of our construction engineers, skilled tradesman and installers, to produce an engineered, certified artwork piece.
The materials used are aluminium, mild steel, galvanised steel, acrylic and digital print.
“The project brief was challenging due to requiring a lightweight design for installation by two people and allowance for multiple dismounting, addition of panels and the subsequent reinstallation at various sites around the country. All sites would have differing levels of accessibility and conditions and it wasn’t as easy as just bolting it to the floor. So, in order to retain the Mission Connect’s team vision of a continuous linear, freestanding fence with a minimal base, Forlano Design devised a weighted and cassette modular system to ensure safety and structural needs were met. With the added challenge of an unusual use of materials such as chain-link, Kingman rose to the challenge to create this bespoke system at a time of challenging material and product availability.” Penelope, Forlano Design.
Reno Burkhart, the lead project manager for the Limen project explains about the design and construction process.
“Everything has been hand constructed by Kingman’s in-house steel fabrication crafts team, and drafted by our digital print and design team. The aluminium sheets are router cut into silhouette shapes and barbed wire. The bends, folds and cuts are symbolic towards the entrapment of the children. The finished coat of the aluminium and the base of the mild steel, is a core ten finish, which represents the earth and the raw and urban landscape of the mission. This was a very important element that the team felt needed to be included in the artwork.”
The structure itself, has been designed to incorporate weights into the base in order to safely hold up the steel fabricated “fence”.
We would like to thank Curtin University for the opportunity to collaborate on such a meaningful and thought provoking project. We thank the survivors for their honesty, bravery and sharing of their stories. We believe this artwork can educate and represent the truth of a past which should not be forgotten.
If you would like to see this piece yourself, you can find it on the Ground floor of the State Library of Western Australia, until the 28th February 2022.
View the exhibition information here: Limen | State Library of Western Australia (slwa.wa.gov.au)
Find out more about the project here: Missions Connect | Transforming Mission Sites into healing Centres.
Limen – At the Fence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq4rf4Y0lAo
Overview of the Limen Launch event: https://youtu.be/l-uMdHRqJl4
