Cinzia Ruffilli – project manager mobile 0413 631 960

Wurundjeri people

To create a monumental sculpture, 6.0 mt high in bronze and stone of "William Barak" - Naranjetti. To be placed in a prominent position within the C.B.D of Melbourne.

November 22, 2008 ...Click the link in orange below to read an article in the Weekend Australian written by Phillip Adams AO Australian broadcaster, film producer, writer, humanist, social commentator about William Barak. Phillip refers to my dream to create a monumental sculpture of Barak.

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24686781-5013491,00.html

Click to read letters of endorsement

Head study in clay

WHY IS WILLIAM BARAK SO SIGNIFICANT?
William Barak's story is a vitally important part of our history and our heritage. He is a connection to a time before white settlement and was responsible for helping form a cultural bridge between two civilizations. When John Batman famously penned "This will be a place for a village" in his journal in 1835, he wrote of the "natives on shore", of what is now known as the Yarra River. The "natives" he referred to would have been the Woiwarrung tribe, of which William Barak was a young member at the time. As a boy he was present when the elders of his tribe signed Batman's Treaty. His long life began before the arrival of the first European settlers. It spanned the early settlement of the Yarra district, the difficulties of racial integration, the opening up of vast tracts of land by the pastoralists, the discovery of gold, the growth of prosperity and the rapid development of the City of Melbourne. He witnessed the loss of his tribal lands and the extinction of his people. An old man of high intelligence and great dignity when he died in 1903, two years after Federation, William Barak was his tribe's last chief and sole survivor. A casualty of history, he should not be forgotten.

"There are a lot of white
fellas on pedestals and
it's about time we saw
a black fella up on one."
Colin McKinnon, Director of Mia Mia Gallery, Melbourne

Barak in his mid thirties

WHY THIS PROJECT IS SO SIGNIFICANT.
A nation's cultural identity is only complete when it genuinely acknowledges its heritage and venerates its past leaders, regardless of their status at the time they were alive. Anywhere else in the "discovered" world, major indigenous figures from history have been immortalized for posterity. But in the case of our own indigenous leaders, it is amazing that not one is represented in civic monuments in the way that Europeans have been paid homage to for over 150 years. Think of a sculpture of an aboriginal figure and images of a near naked male individual on one leg holding a spear may come to mind. An anonymous figure and more symbolic than of anyone in particular, it is a clichéd image that is synonymous with central Australia and the desert north. Certainly not an accurate representation of indigenous tribesmen from the cold climate of southern Victoria who were cloaked regally in imposing possum skins coats that symbolized their standing in their community. It's envisioned that this sculpture will become a destination in itself -a testament to a society's maturity and challenging vision.

William Barak painting

ABOUT PETER SCHIPPERHEYN
Peter is a renowned sculptor in the figurative field and is credited with creating many of this country's most outstanding marble and bronze sculptures in a fluid classic style. The Dame Joan Sutherland commemorative marble sculpture in the Sydney Town Hall and the enormous white marble masks which won Peter the "Wynne" Prize in 1992 are but two of his works. These masks are now located in the foyer of the SBS Building in Sydney. Whilst Peter also works on small scale sculptures, some of his most magnificent pieces are of huge proportions that can simply be described as breathtaking in their sheer dimension and beauty. One current piece that comes to mind is a 12-foot tall marble female torso that stands sentinel outside Peter Schipperheyn studio doors. Peter's artistic talents, are ona world scale of excellence and for many years now Peter has traveled to Carrara in Italy to work from the same marble deposits as did Michelangelo and many of his famous predecessors.

AN ENDORSEMENT OF HIS WORK BY PHILLIP ADAMS
On a first meeting with Peter Schipperheyn, I was awed by what he could do with a block of white marble. Now I wholeheartedly endorse his ambition to create a monument to a black hero.There are very few statues of blacks in this country. Our cemeteries are crowded with marble angels, all bright as snow, and our war memorials contain entire regiments of white soldiers in bronze. Public parks pop politicians up on pedestals, many of them entirely undeserving of the honour, whilst I've noted a plethora of Queen Victorias around the place. But apart from Ricketts' carvings and sculptures of indigenous people in his Mount Dandenong eyrie, too easily dismissed as hopelessly romanticised and sentimental, the only monuments to Aboriginality are such unsculptured rocks as Uluru. Mysterious, looming monuments to what is widely regarded as the most ancient culture on earth. In recent years, historians have suggested that it's time to end the White Australia Policy that limits public sculptures to white explorers, white politicians, white royals and white ANZACS. Henry Reynolds thought it appropriate to honour fallen Aborigines on our war memorials - victims of the conflict between black and white during earlier stages of our national history. This was immediately met with scorn and hostility by social and political conservatives. What Peter Schipperheyn and Cinzia Ruffilli are proposing is rather different. A monumental sculpture in honour of William Barak, a truly heroic and tragic figure whose story, and significance, needs to be far wider known. I'd like to endorse this project wholeheartedly. I've previously been involved in two commissions for Peter Schipperheyn. The first was to have Peter honour Joan Sutherland with a significant piece of sculpture for Sydney Town Hall. Now Peter evocation of Dame Joan's gifts can be seen in close proximity to a much older effort, honouring Dame Nellie Melba. I then asked Peter to do a bust of Patrick White, our first Nobel Laureate in Literature. My intention was to have Peter do portrait busts of all the Australians of the Year, a truly monumental undertaking. But shortly after receiving the bronze of Patrick, I retired as Chair of the National Australia Day Council and the momentum was lost. However, I've watched Peter's career with growing respect. Using marble acquired from the same quarries in Italy that provided Michelangelo with the flawed block that would become David, the most famous statue in Florence, Peter has continued that Renaissance tradition in Australia with work after work of majesty and quality. With Cinzia's management skills, Peter would bring to William Barak, and this country, a majestic work of true historical significance. And at long long last, Australia would have a black man amongst the serried ranks of whites, immortalised in bronze. Such a work is long, long overdue. Peter is more than capable of meeting the challenge. Let us hope that there are patrons who can meet the challenge as well.

Phillip Adams

Concept design - Sculptor Peter Schipperheyn Copyright 2006

A TRIBUTE TO HIS WORK BY EDMUND CAPON
DIRECTOR OF THE ART GALLERY OF N.S.W

"In the annals and history of Australian art, sculpture has forever taken second place to the art of painting. It is a fact that the landscape has been the source of eternal inspiration for the Australian artist, and painting is the medium for the expression of the landscape theme in art. The figurative traditions, the ultimate source of inspiration for Western sculpture, have therefore received essentially scant attention in Australia.

Peter Schipperheyn is one of the rare exceptions to that rule. His art and vision is wholly inspired by the great figurative traditions in Western art: his delicate drawings reflect an extraordinary sensitivity for the human figure, whilst his majestic marble sculptures are expressions of the grandeur and vision that aspire to the greatest European traditions. He is currently unique in Australia; no other living Australian artist has so totally dedicated himself to seeking a truly contemporary expression of Western arts most inspired tradition.

Peter Schipperheyn's work expresses hope, sensitivity, classicism, contemporaneity: it shows above all that the fundamental concerns and emotions of mankind, like great art, transcend time."

EDMUND CAPON

Acknowledgments
Cinzia Ruffilli and Peter Schipperheyn would like to thank the following people for their support /endorsement of this project, to create a 6 metre high bronze sculpture of William Barak.

Wurundjeri Descendants
Bill Nicholson, (Chairperson/Elder Spokesperson) for
the Wurundjeri People (1994 - 1999)
Margaret Gardiner, (Elder) Former Spokesperson for the
Wurundjeri People (1988-1994), Cultural Attaché for
Mirimbiak Aboriginal Corporation)
Martha Nicholson, (Terrick) (Senior Elder of the
Nicholson Family)
Jessie Terrick, (Senior Elder)
Jessie E Hunter, (Senior Elder of the Hunter Family),
Norman Hunter (Elder),
Ian Hunter, Gary Hunter (Elders)
Wilma Nevin (Senior Elder)
Ewan Gardiner (Senior Elder), Jemima Gardiner
Ruby Williams (Elder)
Bret Ross (Kurnai), Brett.A.Ross (Jur) (Kurnai)
Donna M Punch
Trevor Coombes, Gloria Coombes, Barry Coombes
Julie Stahl
Tammy Hunter (Capocchi), Jodie-Lee Hunter, Sharon
Ann Hunter, Sean Hunter Sue-Anne Hunter, Kellie
(Hunter) Loughron
Vicki P Brown (Nicholson)
Wandin Family, Juby Wandin, Joy Murphy and Alan
Wandin,
Gloria Coombes (Nicholson) Patricia Ockwell (Nicholson)

Leaders in the Aboriginal Community

Evelyn Scott Chairperson (Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation)
Dr. Lowitja O'Donoghue AC, CBE
Senator Aden Ridgeway, Australian Democrats Senator for New South Wales
Trevor Edwards (Chairperson for the Wathaurong People)
The People's Movement Committee
Colin McKinnon, "Mia Mia Gallery"
Rodney Carter, Manager Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre, Melbourne Museum

Many thanks to the following people for their support and assistance

Phillip Adams, A.O
Bruno Grollo, Adam Grollo
Peter Garrett, Australian Conservation Foundation

This proposal is produced with the cooperation of Grey
Worldwide.