Katie Stackhouse,

Turtle Guardian, 2024

Bronze and patina

55 x 250 x 165 cm

Artist: Katie Stackhouse
Curator: Lisa Warrener, Global Art Projects
Client: Laing O’Rourke / SEPA for LXRP

Cultural Consultation: Elders at Wurundjeri Council

Fabricator: Meridian Sculpture
Installation: Ben Fasham

Located at the Ringwood East station, (Lilydale line), Wurundjeri Country

Photograph Credit: Christian Capurro

Katie Stackhouse,

Turtle Guardian, 2024 (detail)

Bronze and patina

55 x 250 x 165 cm

Photograph Credit: Christian Capurro

The site-specific sculpture Turtle Guardian is inspired by the local eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis).

‘Like a traveller’s talisman, the abstracted turtle, installed at the transient site of a train station, is a gentle shield symbolising protection for travellers whilst serving as a guardian of the natural rivers, wetlands and meadow ecosystems of the area.

The turtle’s ability to traverse both water and land, sometimes travelling long distances while carrying its shell – its home – holds scientific and mythical interest in folklore worldwide, embodying the symbolic power of good fortune, safe passage, longevity, and wisdom.

Stackhouse has integrated intricate botanical embossing of plants specific to the waterways and meadowlands of the area onto the sculpture’s surface. In creating this sculpture, she consulted with Elders from the Wurundjeri Council, as well as zoologists from the School of Biosciences at the University of Melbourne and wildlife ecologists from the Arthur Rylah Institute of Environmental Research.