The City not only has striking new artwork, courtesy of award-winning WA artist Dr Perdita Phillips. It now has its first museum.
Joondakammer: A cabinet of curiosity for Joondalup, is on display on the lower level of Joondalup Library.
Phillips created the artwork after being awarded the City’s major Visual Arts Commission in 2022.
When the artist found out that there was no museum in the City of Joondalup, she proposed to address this ‘missing’ public resource.
Her work was inspired by early museums that housed artefact collections in cabinets of curiosity or Wunderkammer, which inspired the content and name of the new artwork.
The artwork consists of a wooden cabinet, complete with abalone shell inlays and filled with specimens found from the Joondalup region, including pinecones, nuts, feathers, bones, soil and other objects.
“It is a true museum for Joondalup,” the artist said.
“I visited many parks and areas where natural lives still carry on – from beaches and sand dunes to bushland and the swampy shores of Lake Joondalup.
“To limit damage to the environment, I looked for materials that were already dead and that could be safely taken from the ground. Collecting plastic and other discarded things in the environment is something I always do as I walk.”
The cabinet includes both sound and video. The sounds can only be heard once or twice in 24 hours.
“The voices are of local animals who are trying to engage you through the locked doors of the cabinet,” Phillips said.
Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob said Joondakammer was an artwork that speaks to the identity of Joondalup.
“It is exquisitely constructed and offers an enticing and sophisticated insight into the ecologies of Joondalup. Perdita’s sustained and meaningful engagement with the City through walks and community engagement have resulted in a significant and unique addition to the City of Joondalup art collection,” he said.