The Watchful Ones

The Watchful Ones celebrates the harmonious bond between nature, family and community, reflecting the timeless guardianship shared across species and generations that also exists within our urban city spaces.

A pair of magpie parents on the lookout to protect their chicks stand in front of a vibrant repeating pattern of local native flowers – pink pigface, purple kangaroo apple, and yellow murnong – signalling the season when magpies are most protective.

Jarra Karalinar Steel is a multidisciplinary artist known for her Rising Melbourne Art Trams, powerful poster art, large-scale public installations, video games, digital art and commemorative signage. Steel explores her South Eastern Kulin identity, memories, pop culture, folklore from her cultural history, and lived experiences growing up in Melbourne and living on country in culture with knowledge passed down through her family.

Photo: Peter Berzanskis