Sydney’s new landmark sculpture is a First Nations woman rising out of water

A part woman, part whale figure that represents Country will be situated in Sydney’s central district in 2026.
A digital render of a large bronze sculpture of a woman emerging out of the water, only showing the top half of her body, in a public space next to a building.

A cast bronze sculpture over five metres high of a First Nations woman rising out of water will be situated outside the Waldorf Astoria Sydney hotel at Circular Quay – a central business district and popular tourist site with heavy foot traffic.

Commissioned by Lendlease and created by Dharawal and Yuin artist Alison Page, Badjgama Ngunda Whuliwulawala (Black Women Rising) depicts a part woman, part whale figure that represents the deep connection First Nations people have to Country.

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Celina Lei is ArtsHub's Content Manager. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne. Instagram @lleizy_