Boobook refers to the Australian Boobook owl. The form of the owl is stylised into a black still and silent figure. It maintains its position, watching as the world changes around it. To the artist (who often hears its call at night in suburban Perth) it suggests a being that has existed in this place long before any human ever arrived. it speaks of deep time and of the change that has happened.

The artwork is assembled to create a vertical mirrored pairing of white and black forms. The black is surfaced in the charcoal texture of burnt trees which is a common image in the surround bush of Perth. To the artist, this textures speaks of harsh experience through eons of time.

The artwork was commissioned by the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia and is sited outside the city train station. The mirrored white form above the black is inverted and simplified into facets and internally illuminated. It is pierced with a pattern that references an early work of the artist also associated with Perth railways.

The artwork forms a still and quiet point in space and time, around which live scurries in haste and self absorbed importance.

all images by Frances Andrijich Photographer

Commissioner - Public Transport Authority of Western Australia

Cultural advisor - Sandra Hill