Yurakauwi

Description:

Standing four meters tall and designed by mantirridesign in collaboration with the voices of various Senior Kaurna Elders. This metal sculpture serves as a powerful tribute to cultural relationships and connections to Country that the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains have had for thousands of years and continue to spiritually maintain today. It is inspired by Yurakauwi (Kaurna for Water Monster or Rainbow Serpent), the dark patches of the Milky Way, where Yurakauwi lurk and the spirit of Yurakauwi flows eternally, and the life-cycle of water.

Located at the University of South Australia Mawson Lakes Campus, it embodies significant cultural connections to the Kaurna cosmos, Dry Creek and its immediate surrounding area. This artwork not only enhances the local landscape of campus life, but also fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation of Kaurna culture and its enduring links to the natural world by stitching together the fabric of earth and sky through a Kaurna lens.

This grand cultural marker, is a physical interpretation and translation of Yurakauwi, to teach people some of the Kaurna connections to the local waters and Sky Country overhead. However, this Yurakauwi sculpture is more than just a cultural marker—it is a guardian for the continuation of its story and its place within Kaurna Country and society. This sculpture reminds everyone that they are part of a larger story.