Many of us think of oysters as a delicacy served at fancy restaurants. The shells are taken away, thrown in the bin, and diners move on to the main course.

For Quandamooka artist Megan Cope, kinyingarra (oyster in Jandai language) is so much more than a luxury item to be consumed.

“Actually this humble creature is one of the most powerful little creatures. They’re amazing, they clean the water, they fix carbon,” she says.

The special creature is again the focus of her latest project — a major new public artwork for the Sydney Opera House, commissioned as part of its 50th anniversary, to remind visitors of the deep connection to the site called Tubowgule by Gadigal people.

Cope will use 80,000 oyster shells, donated from local restaurants and the fish market, to form a giant midden.

“I love this building, but when I’m here I see through this building and I see what was here before and I think a lot of Indigenous people do that,” she says.

But she can’t do it alone.

A volunteer “scrub club” armed with gloves, toothbrushes, and wooden takeaway knives has been meeting at Cope’s Marrickville studio regularly to clean oyster shells. 

They’ve cleaned 35,000 already with at least double that number needed for the artwork to be installed in September.

“We’re making this together,” Cope says.

Locals and tourists join ‘scrub club’

At a special scrub club next to the Opera House on Friday, hundreds more clean shells were added to the tally.

Year 11 student Marcus Ticic swapped the classroom for a view of the harbour to do his bit.

“I’d much rather be here than school,” he says. “It’s very serene, very tranquil.”

“It’s cool to think that when it’s set up, I’ll tell my mates I was part of that.”

Aspiring art teacher William Cao was among University of NSW students to get involved as part of their studies.

“It seems like it would be boring, but you kind of get into the groove of it,” he says.

Eve Darwin from Brisbane was doing some sightseeing with her brother, Alex, when they decided to join in.

“We thought we’d check off the touristy thing and we stumbled across this and thought why not?” Alex says.

The contemplation and conversations that happen in the process are just as important to Cope as the finished project.

“The work that we have to do in Australia in terms of our national identity and how we connect with First Nations history and culture, that’s at the centre of my practice all the time,” she says.

“So it’s really exciting to actually be able to develop a work with the people and spend time with each other, making the work and connecting with the oyster, and reflecting on the environment and social landscape.

Daily cleaning sessions will be held at Cope’s Marrickville studio to complete the rest with anyone welcome to drop in and help.

Responsibility to understand nuances of history

Once clean, a hole will be drilled into each shell so it can be tied into clusters and attached to wooden poles, evoking a giant midden. 

Formed over thousands of years from Aboriginal people gathering, eating, and discarding shells and fish bones in the same spots, middens once lined the harbour.

After colonisation, they were burnt for limestone to make cement for the building of the new city.

Cope’s monumental artwork will open a month-long festival starting at the end of September to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Opera House.

Director of programming Fiona Winning says it is important to acknowledge the First Nations history of the site the building sits on.

“People know that there is a history, but we need to do a lot of work about understanding the nuances of those histories and this is just one little part of that,” she says.

“I think we’ve got a responsibility as all Australians to understand more about the country we live on and work on, and the waterways and the skies.”

The installation will coincide with the lead-up to a referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

While not planned, curator of contemporary art at the Opera House Micheal Do welcomes the timing.

“As a cultural centre for Australians, we reflect the zeitgeist, we reflect the current moment, and this is the issue of this generation. So, of course, we have to reflect that and that’s why we have the work,” he says.

More information about how you can get involved in the scrub club is available here.