Public Art & Storytelling
On Country: Continuing a Legacy of Storytelling
Perth Film Studios proudly operates on Country where Traditional Owners have shared stories for more than 60,000 years. These stories – expressed through art, song, dance and oral tradition – are among the oldest continuing storytelling traditions in the world.
This land has always been a place of creativity, knowledge‑sharing and cultural expression. Long before film, stages or screens, stories were embedded in the landscape itself, passed from generation to generation and grounded in deep connections to Country, community and culture.
At the heart of Perth Film Studios are significant public artworks that anchor the site in Country and offer a welcoming presence to all who arrive.
The entry sculpture and yarning circle were created by First Nations artists Lea Taylor and Buffie Punch, whose work speaks to connection, continuity and shared storytelling. Lea Taylor, a Wadandi, Menang, Goreng, Kaniyang and Ballardong Bibbulmun yorga, led the design of the artworks, with Buffie Punch, a Noongar Menang, Goreng yorga, contributing to the collaborative creation of the yarning circle.
Inspired by a traditional Mia Mia shelter, the yarning circle incorporates motifs of water and fire and has been designed to weather and evolve naturally within the landscape. The entry sculpture, shaped as a flame, features patterning drawn from the banksia leaf, native to the area, and reflects Lea’s recurring use of the number three to represent man, woman and child. Together, these works invite pause and conversation, offering a meaningful introduction to place, culture and the enduring presence of Aboriginal storytelling at Perth Film Studios.
Today, Perth Film Studios supports new voices, new technologies and new stories, while recognising that storytelling on this land did not begin with us. We are proud to operate on Country and to contribute to a tradition of storytelling that is ancient, ongoing and ever‑evolving.
