First Contact
Artist
Laurel Nannup
Materials
Cast aluminium and sandblasted granite
About
The First Contact sculpture stands five metres tall, welcoming visitors to Elizabeth Quay. Originally depicted in a woodcut print, it tells a powerful Noongar story.
In Noongar Dreaming, a person’s spirit becomes a bird when they pass, flying to the next realm. When Noongar people first saw European ships sailing up the Swan River, their white sails looked like giant wings. They believed the ships carried the spirits of their ancestors returning from the sea.
At night, the sculpture illuminates, creating a stunning viewing point on the Swan River.
“They first saw a boat with white sails coming to share, which they haven’t seen before.
You know it would have looked like a big white bird.
And the sailors being Wadjellas, made the Noongar people think it was their ancestors’ spirits coming back from the dead, from the sea.”
Watch Artist Video
Where
Find First Contact at Elizabeth Quay on the western promenade. For more information, download our Art at the Quay guide below:
Explore Art at Elizabeth Quay
Spanda
The 29m-tall Spanda symbolises ripples of connection, linking the Swan River, land and sky in a striking form.
Signature Ring
A collaborative artwork preserves the signatures of 200,000 WA students, etched in copper as a tribute to community and connection.
EDGE
A dynamic light installation that mirrors the shifting colours and rhythms of the water, creating a fluid, ever-changing display along the quay’s edge.
