Walking the Language of Landscape
Amber Cronin
Indigenous author, activist, and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer says that to be native to a place, we must first learn to speak its language.
Language is the heart of culture. It holds the thoughts and ways of seeing the world. Developed in partnership with Kaurna linguist Jack Buckskin, Walking the Language of Landscape is a series of text artworks integrated into the mixed-use path on the eastern side of Hutt Road that publicly celebrates the Kaurna language.
The font used in the artwork was developed from archival excerpts and records from the first missionary schools at Piltawodli. These letters create a narrative deeply rooted in the history of this place. The distributed letters are a response from (and to) Country, creating a site-responsive work that echoes the past, present, and future voices of Hutt Road.
This Public Artwork was delivered within the Hutt Street Entry statement project.