Yininmadyemi Thou Didst Let Fall

This major artwork located in Hyde Park South honours Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who served in our nation’s military and their families. Sydney-based artist Tony Albert created the work, inspired by the story of his grandfather Eddie Albert’s narrow wartime escape. The work is also based on research by family historian Trisha Albert.

The artwork YININMADYEMI Thou didst let fall depicts four standing bullets and three fallen shells. The bullet is recogniseda universal signifier for conflict. The arrangement of the bullets, with some standing and some fallen, represents those who survived and those who were sacrificed. The artwork also references the circumstances faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women when they returned to Australia. They were treated differently from their white Australian comrades who were given land for their service while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were still having their land taken away.

The word Yininmadyemi is taken from an indigenous language of Sydney and translates as ‘Thou Didst Let Fall’. The translation is sourced from the writings of Second Lieutenant William Dawes who recorded the local language and culture of the Aboriginal people of Sydney in the late 18th century.

IMAGE CREDIT: Lighting Art+Science