Museum of Sydney, Edge of the Trees

"Edge of the Trees" is a permanent sculpture in the forecourt of the Museum of Sydney. It was commissioned especially for this site in 1995 and created by Janet Laurence and Fiona Foley, an indigenous artist and a non-indigenous artist, working together. It evokes the cultural and physical history of the site, before and after 1788, when contact and colonisation took place. The name of the sculpture comes from the 1985 essay by historian Rhys Jones: "…the 'discoverer' struggling through the surf were met on the beaches by other people looking at them from the edge of the trees." It consists of 29 large pillars of sandstone, wood and steel, which correspond to the 29 Aboriginal clans from around Sydney. The materials have been recycled from lost buildings in the city with historical references carved, burnt or engraved upon them and various artefacts embedded in windows within. When you walk amongst the pillars, you can hear a soundscape of indigenous voices reciting the names of places in the Sydney region.

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