Right here before us once stood the Archaeology of Bathing. This installation once traced the history of bathing in Woolloomooloo Bay.
Let’s dive into the story of this artwork by Robyn Backen. It was commissioned for the Sydney 2000 Olympics as part of the Sydney Sculpture Walk. The Archaeology of Bathing reflected on Woolloomooloo Bay’s bathing history.
Before European settlement, the Gadigal people bathed here. Sydney’s first baths were built along this shore. Woolloomooloo Bay was the site of eleven bathing establishments. Between 1883 and 1955, four separate ladies’ bathing establishments existed here. Mrs. Biggs’ Ladies Baths and the Domain Baths for Ladies were among them.
Backen’s installation included a concrete path that defined the poolside deck. It also featured changing cubicles. Steel steps led down from an entrance frame on the shoreline. This led to a cage-like structure. It represented the old bathing machine. The bathing machine protected ladies from sharks and men’s attention. Morse code messages flashed in lights around the entrance frame. These lights were triggered by people approaching the site. The naval presence in Woolloomooloo Bay inspired this detail.
A floating jetty extended from the cage. It led to navigational cardinals that marked the original baths’ perimeter. The jetty’s tidal movements highlighted the littoral zone. The littoral zone is the area between high and low tide. This slippage was important to the artist’s concept.
Robyn Backen is an interdisciplinary artist from Sydney. She studied sculpture in Amsterdam and Salzburg. Her teachers included Marcus Lupertz and Edvardo Paolozzi. Backen’s work includes sound, lightworks, projections, and computer-generated systems. Her installations actively engage with the spaces they inhabit. Though technologically complex, her installations appear minimal. Systems like language, code, classifying, and remembering become the subjects of her work.
The Archaeology of Bathing was originally commissioned for ten years. It was part of the City of Sydney’s public art collection for nearly 20 years. Each work on the Sydney Sculpture Walk contributed artistically and culturally to the city. It added renewed interest and meaning to established city spaces.
In 2016, a review of the Sydney Sculpture Walk led to the deaccession of three works. The Archaeology of Bathing was among them. This decision was not taken lightly. The artwork was deaccessioned in 2019.
Though no longer here, the Archaeology of Bathing sparked reflection. It helped us to remember the history of bathing in Woolloomooloo Bay. It encouraged us to think about cultural attitudes and modesty in early Sydney.