Fountain 1992

Fountain 1992,
Red ochre, 50,000 one-cent and 25,000 two-cent coins

A crowd in their Sunday best gathered at the western corner of Circular Quay watching Indigenous children dive for coins, from a cluster of wooden ferry pilings. It was September 1st, 1968; I could easily see the children swimming a few metres below the surface, fossicking through the seaweed for coins; the harbour water was much clearer then.

In 1990, I was asked to exhibit in a group show for Artspace’s inaugural exhibition at their new Woolloomooloo site not far from the Quay. I recalled the experience described above and developed the installation Fountain. A few days after the opening, I visited the Gallery. On arrival, a gallery invigilator cornered me, speaking in a hushed, anxious tone, to let me know that Aboriginal children were inside the gallery viewing my work. Toward the end of the conversation, five children walked out of the gallery in single file. They did not speak, but the sound of their gait suggested they were wearing tap shoes. As the last child walked past, the reality of the sound clicked. I leaned in, smiling, and said, “Hi, what did you use?” He kept walking, but looked back at me and said, “Chewing gum.”