Artists statement

'SAFETYNET' was commissioned by the City of Darebin to reflect upon the rich history of migration to the municipality, and the many diverse cultures that make up our community. The sculpture is inspired by the motif of the Vietnamese fishing net. Whilst fishing is universal, the artist draws on his own experience of migration from Vietnam to Australia at age 8. For some of us, a fishing net cast far and wide is always charged with hope. By chance, what we get to keep or cast away continues to sustain life.

We acknowledge that the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people are the Traditional Owners and custodians of the Land and place where this sculpture stands, and its surrounds. For many thousands of generations, and for generations to come, they have observed the rich accumulation of time, creativity and knowledge.

'SAFETYNET' honours the journeys of those who have migrated and resettled here, their hard-fought struggles and achievements on these Aboriginal Lands. As a site where so many stories continue to be shared and imagined, it is the enduring entanglements of this Country’s First Peoples, with waves of past and future settlers, that is core to the values of this artwork.

Artist Bio
James Nguyen is a Melbourne-based interdisciplinary artist. Born in Vietnam, he migrated to Australia when he was eight years old. Research and conversation play key roles in his practice, which examines strategies of decolonisation while interrogating the politics of family history, displacement and diaspora.