The Genestreaming Journey Sculpture Bunya Mountains to Boyce Gardens Toowoomba has been created for the Singapore Gardens by The Bay. The project was headed by the Art of Nature School. The sculpture is the first international initiative of the Genestreaming Journey Sculptures national tourism trail which is a nation wide project with its foundations in Western Australia. The project commenced when Toowoomba based artist Ben Beeton visited Albany to learn about the Gondwana Link program and met Aunty Carol Pettersen OAM. The artwork for the sculpture is a re-worked fusion of two projects. The first being the Genestreaming Journey Sculpture created for the Bonye Bair Bush University in the Bunya Mountains which was established by the Bunya Peoples Aboriginal Corporation. The second was an artist in residence project at the Boyce Gardens Toowoomba titled “Gondwana in Toowoomba” that explored the floral history of this area since it was part of the ancient supercontinent, Gondwana, more than 65 million-years ago and the volcanic history from approximately 27Ma to 20Ma. We share information on both projects below.
Opening event at Singapore Gardens by the Bay
The Genestreaming Journey Sculptures connect to an animated Augmented Reality experience which provides an account of the history of the Earth.
External Art of the Genestreaming Journey Sculpture for Singapore Gardens by the Bay
Representatives of the Bunya Peoples Aboriginal Corporation & Toowoomba based first nations artist Kim Walmsley
Internal Art of the Genestreaming Journey Sculpture for Singapore Gardens by the Bay
Sculpture Leaving for Singapore
Phylogenetic Tree Base Plate
This film shares the origins of the Genestreaming Journey Sculptures in Western Australia when Toowoomba based artist Ben Beeton visited Albany to learn about the Gondwana Link program and met Aunty Carol Pettersen. Ben and Aunty Carol discussed the concept for a national sculpture trail that would share culture, conservation and science. It took Ben several years to realise the design for the sculpture.
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Genestreaming Journey Sculpture embarking on its journey to Singapore Gardens by the Bay
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The Bunya Peoples Aboriginal Corporation embraced the project and funded the creation of the first Genestreaming Journey Sculpture that was opened in Queensland. This film tells that story.
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Facebook 7News Toowoomba https://fb.watch/utU_XvOojz/
Facebook Win Toowoomba https://fb.watch/utXDsL2sjD/ Also aired on Sunshine Coast, Mackay, Townsville news reports.
ABC SQ Radio – Sat 7 Sept – recording
https://www.facebook.com/WINNewsToowoomba/videos/920381296594215
Project Associated Websites
- www.genestreaming.com
- www.artofnatureschool.thinkific.com
- www.sciart.com.au/genestreams-sculptures-nation-wide-tourism-trail-an-introduction/
Field Naturalist Artwork Contributors
- Ben Beeton – SciArtist, Scientific Research, Phylogenetic Tree Base Plate design – Art of Nature School
- Mali Moir – Scientific Illustration, Scientific Research – Art of Nature School
- Dr Gillian Scott – Scientific Illustration, Scientific Research
- Steve Parish – Wildlife Photography
- Margarita Menares – Illustration
- Sharon O’Phee – Eco Dying
- Natasha Wills – Leaf foliage arrangement & canopy photography
- Frank Lee Frivolous – Leaf foliage arrangement & canopy photography
- Ben Price – Scientific consultant
- Peter McQueen – Scientific consultant
Aboriginal Artists
- Adrian Bauwens
- Jacinda Ibrahim
- Niketa Law
- Stephanie Lingwoodock
- Tolita Dolzan
Phylogenetic Tree Research & Design Team
- Gary Muir (research and arrangement) – Wow Wilderness EcoProjects
- Ben Beeton (concept design and graphics) – Art of Nature School
Concept for the Genestreaming Journey Sculptures
- Noongar Elder Aunty Carol Pettersen & Artist Ben Beeton
Sculpture Design of the Genestreaming Journey Sculptures
Engineering Designer the Genestreaming Journey Sculptures
Project Managers
Fabrication & Engineering Enhancements
Project Ambassadors
- Aunty Carol Pettersen – Noongar Elder/former national NAIDOC female elder of the year
- Dr Noel Nannup – Noongar Elder/former national NAIDOC male elder of the year
- Professor Stephen Hopper – Professor of Biodiversity, Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, UWA Albany (CENRM) and School of Biological Sciences
- Dr Alan Briggs – President of GeoParks WA
- Dr Peter Ellyard – Futurist/ former Executive Director of the Australian Commission for the Future
- Shannon Bauwens – Bunya Peoples Aboriginal Corporation Cultural Services Coordinator
Project Enablers
- Keith Bradby – Gondwana Link Pty Ltd CEO
- Paul Dawson – Bunya Peoples Aboriginal Corporation General Manager
- Peter Homan – Southern Queensland Country Tourism CEO
Sculpture Sponsors
- Mort & Co – Financial support for fabrication & digital printing
- Art of Nature School – Extra scientific illustrations, extra panel artworks & phylogenetic tree design
- Vulcan – Materials supplied for fabrication
- Qantas – Sculpture freight
- Toowoomba Regional Council – artist travel expenses
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Sample illustrations provided by the Art of Nature School team Mali Moir and Ben Beeton
Former Projects which participated in the creation of the Genestreaming Journey Sculpture – Bunya Mountains to Boyce Gardens Toowoomba
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The Bonye Biar (Bunya Mountains) Bush University featuring the Bunya Mountains Genestreaming Journey Sculpture
In partnership with the Bunya Peoples Aboriginal Corporation the Genestreaming Journey Sculptures team is proud to present this sculpture as a contribution to the Bonye Biar Bush University.
The Genestreaming Journey Sculptures team wish to acknowledge Paul Dawson General Manager of the Bunya Peoples Aboriginal corporation, the Bunya Rangers, Jason Lawler site manager/landscaping artist and Darrell Campbell, director of DCC Engineering for their contribution to the project.
Overview: “Bonye Biar (Bunya Mountains) is one of the most significant gathering places in Australia, where lore and culture was developed and maintained by Aboriginal peoples from across Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Since time immemorial Bonye Biar has been under Aboriginal management and leadership. Bonye Biar is therefore as much a cultural landscape as it is a natural landscape. The Bonye Biar Bush University proposal seeks to create an ‘In-Country’ learning place, where Aboriginal knowledge and lore can be revived and appropriately shared with all people who visit the region. The ‘Bush University’ concept has been initiated by Noongar people in WA with the Nowanup Bush University (https://news.curtin.edu.au/mediareleases/innovative-bush-learning-space-reaches-important-milestone/) which has been a huge success. The ‘In-Country’ learning place will be designed and developed in a way that works with the landscape and environment to tell the cultural stories and natural history of the landscape in a creative way that facilitates engagement with community and place. The project will also build upon previous and current investment and value add to the work being undertaken by key partners”. Paul Dawson General Manager Bunya People’s Aboriginal Corporation
Photograph by Steve Parish of Nature Connect
About the Genestreaming Journey Sculptures initiative: In partnership with traditional owners, local communities and Gondwanalink the initiative is a nationwide project between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, community organizations and conservation groups. The vision of founding elder to the project Aunty Carol Pettersen OAM JP is that the sculptures will form a national tourism trail which will increase an awareness of the importance of ecological restoration, cultural restoration, threatened species, and how, through deep time all species are connected. The concept design was created by Ben Beeton. The sculptures structural design was developed by Mark Hewson of Torbay Glass Studios. Special thank you to Paul Dawson, Jason Lawler, Darrell Campbell and the Bunya Peoples Aboriginal Corporation.
Genestreaming Sculpture within the Bonye Biar (Bunya Mountains) Bush University, footage provided by Jason Lawler
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Toowoomba Boyce Gardens Artist Residency
Gondwana in Toowoomba
This 4-part screen is designed around the cladogram (Time Map or Family Tree) for the Vascular Plants – the Pteridophytes (Ferns), Gymnosperms (Coniferous Plants) and Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) that were present in Gondwanaland 65 MYA.
The flowering plants include both the monocotyledonous plants (eg the Lily Family) and the dicotyledonous plants (eg Proteaceae, Myrtaceae, Fabaceae and Moraceae). The families that were present in Gondwanaland are with us still, although the species may be different. Extant species from the Boyce Gardens are used as examples of the many families present in the garden. Material for every family was not available during the last year but we hope to rectify those omissions later on.
“GONDWANA IN TOOWOOMBA 2008”
Two of Toowoomba’s well-known artists – Gillian Scott and Ben Beeton – have spent the last year working together on a project (funded by the Regional Arts Development Foundation – RADF) that explores the floral history of this area since it was part of the ancient supercontinent, Gondwana, more than 65 million-years ago. In particular, the Boyce Garden – where they are Artists-in-Residence – has been the focus of their attention.
The Boyce Garden includes some remnant rainforest of the type that clothed the slopes of the Great Dividing Range before settlement by Europeans in the mid-19thC. Ben and Gillian decided to trace the history and relationships of the trees and vines in the rainforest through the turbulent volcanic evolution of this area.
In this they were helped by various scientists from both Brisbane and Toowoomba who supplied maps and diagrams from which were developed their final depictions of the flora of the region.
Whilst Gillian Scott has an international reputation as a botanical artist, Ben has followed a different direction of specialization focusing on developing a broad understanding on the ecology, geology and deep time history of the natural systems where he undertakes artist residency projects. Using these skills, he has specialized in creating artworks from a broad range of scientific data.
What brought these two very different artists together? Both Ben and Gillian admire fine, intricate work and are prepared to put many, many hours of effort into producing their beautiful works of art.
Gillian says, “The amount of half-hidden background detail in Ben’s pictures is amazing. You must take the time to find everything you can; and when you think you have – then it snowballs!”
Gillian’s paintings of some of the trees, and her drawings of the many vines, will also be displayed.
One featured work is a folding screen on which is drawn a family tree (a cladogram) of the history of our current flora. It is illustrated with the relevant plants – ferns, araucarias and flowering plants – that have been drawn or painted by the two artists.
The exhibition was opened by the Mayor, Cr Peter Taylor.
By Gillian Scott phd fsba 2008
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Selected Species for the Genestreaming Journey Sculpture – Bunya Mountains to Boyce Gardens Toowoomba
- Spotted-tail Quoll Dasyurus maculatus maculatus
- Short-beaked Echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus Gihrungu
- Carpet Python Morelia spilota Gabul
- Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax Ngai’yil
- Regent Honeyeater Anthochaera phrygia
- Giant Barred Frog Mixophyes iteratus
- Blue Tiger Butterfly Tirumala hamata
- Rib-fruited Malletwood Rhodamnia dumicola
- Giant Stinging Tree Dendrocnide excelsa Gympie / Gimbi
- Lacebark Tree Brachychiton discolor Gurnal / Wiri
- Bunya Mountains Bluegrass Bothriochloa bunyensis
- Glauca Grass Tree Xanthorrhoea glauca subsp. glauca Dhakka
- Bunya Pine Araucaria bidwillii Bonyi
- Soft Tree Fern Dicksonia Antarctica
- Blotched Butterfly Orchid Sarcochilus weinthalii
Phylogenetic Tree Base Plate
Each ring of the base plate represents a different period of geological time. Each petal of the sculpture represents a different species and connects to either and orange line or green line. The orange lines represent the animals and the green lines represent the plants. The yellow line represents where in deep time the plants and animals share a common ancestor.
Objectives
o Unique and iconic Cultural educational tourism development for the Western Downs and Toowoomba regions.
o Learning spaces within the landscape that facilitate this tourism economy.
o Value for money, culturally and environmentally sensitive development.
o Strengthening of partnerships and community collaborations.
o Revitalization of cultural knowledge and practice throughout the region.
o Build on existing projects (ie Fishers Lookout development and BPAC Ranger programs) and value adding to previous and current investment.
Field Naturalist Artwork Details created by the Art of Nature School
Artworks & Details by Aboriginal artists with connections to the Bunya Mountains
Adrian Bauwens
Jacinda Ibrahim
Niketa Law
Stephanie Lingwoodock
Tolita Dolzan
The National Tourism Trail of Genestreaming Journey Sculptures
Our objective is to develop the National Tourism Trail of Genestreaming Journey Sculptures which focuses on bringing culture and science together through art to promote conservation awareness. To achieve this goal we are looking to work with shires, local organisations and conservation organisations to establish approximately 10 Genestreaming Journey Sculptures in each state and territory.
Through the participation of communities across Australia our vision is to facilitate new possibilities for engagement in conservation, education and the arts. When undertaking the field naturalist work we seek to consult with local people who are involved in conservation efforts. This initiative focuses on bringing local people together in order to address the serious challenges of habitat loss, growing numbers of endangered species and climate change.
Genestreaming Journey Sculptures feature the artwork of Aboriginal artists of the region on the outside of the sculpture and field naturalist art focusing on local ecosystems, endangered species and their deep time shared ancestry on the inside of the sculpture.
We have received funding from Lotterywest to develop the first tourism trail of Genestreaming Journey Sculptures which we envisage will be the beginning of the National Tourism Trail of Genestreaming Journey Sculptures.
20230727 Lotterywest – The Genestreaming Journey Sculptures of Gondwana Link Tourism Trail funding cheque presentation in Albany and National Regional and Economic Development Summit presentation in Toowoomba. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the in-kind support for our project provided by BlueScope Steel, Vulcan and Signarama.
Acting as a learn space Genestreaming Journey Sculptures may be Augmented Reality sculptures which are viewable through your phone or physical sculptures. When people walk into the sculpture they are walking into a giant phylogenetic tree of selected regional species. The sculptures have their origins in virtual reality teaching tools about understanding the Tree of Life.
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Testing the Augmented Reality Genestreaming Journey Sculpture at Mount Magnet
At Mount Magnet and Kellerberrin we created a digital mural which featured all of the contributing artwork in the sculpture. At Mount Magnet they placed their mural in the local visitors information center.
The mural at Mount Magnet has been very successful in promoting the project.
Augmented Reality Genestreaming Journey Sculpture in Kellerberrin
These films provide an overview of our project
These films provide perspectives on the Genestreaming Journey Sculptures from co-founders Aunty Carol Pettersen, Ben Beeton, the head of Gondwana Link Keith Bradby and other core project participants
Origins of the Bonye Biar (Bunya Mountains) Bush University Initiative
This project is the vision of the Bunya Peoples’ Aboriginal Corporation for a “Learn Space” in the Bunya Mountains.
The above design of the snake forms is by Jason Lawler with Genestreams sculpture input by Ben Beeton. Paul Dawson pointed out that at this site there was an intersection between grass land ecology and rainforest ecology therefore two ecological connections sculptures are featured. Here we can see how the Genestreams design can complement sculptural snake designs specific to the location.
Concept image 2019
Research Links
https://www.fossilguy.com/sites/ambridge/fern-fossils.htm
http://www.largeigneousprovinces.org/07aug
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2020.544496/full
https://biologos.org/series/evolution-basics/articles/assembling-vertebrate-body-plans
https://www.geoengineer.org/news/the-mystery-behind-australias-volcanoes
https://youtu.be/NHDCVAULoCU
Nothofagus Locations and Peripherals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOLwGQ1uD0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIck5UWE7OU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7mhuf9ftmI
https://youtu.be/ZnJC7rzjlCI
https://youtu.be/ZRaEola00FI
https://youtu.be/BPCPdCVgD8U
https://youtu.be/Uf6p17XlkoU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUaIr_-_7JM
https://youtu.be/10E6b2WN6bs
https://youtu.be/CZN6koAcSzw
https://youtu.be/DCr6OVcf2Q0
https://youtu.be/nndusklnm_w
https://youtu.be/a7QxQr5LlzY
https://youtu.be/knmCJy3kMMc
https://youtu.be/yQZmWO_fn_E
https://youtu.be/fNR7gWRzRLI
https://youtu.be/YvipvgwRFmg
https://youtu.be/XHkhUExdhtk