The musée du quai Branly has announced today the unveiling of a permanent Aboriginal work on its 700 sqm roof terrace. This dynamic work, entitled Dayiwul Lirlmim (‘Barramundi Scales’), is visible to Google Earth users and the 7 million people who climb the nearby Eiffel Tower each year. It is an adaptation of a new black-and-white painting by the artist, which will also be displayed at the museum.
The massively enlarged version of a work by Australian Aboriginal artist Lena Nyadbi adorns the roof of the multimedia library at the French capital’s Musee du Quai Branly on the banks of the Seine. Created using stencils and with the same kind of rubberised paint used for traffic signs, the 700-square-metre (7,500 sq. ft) installation has been designed to be visible from several different levels of the nearby Eiffel Tower, which draws in around seven million visitors every year.
In keeping with architect Jean Nouvel’s original concept, the installation is the latest of a series of Aboriginal artworks to be incorporated into the museum’s design. The largest permanent installation of its kind, the project realises the museum’s vision of bringing contemporary Australian arts to a wider audience.