Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), Australia's leading university art museum, is delighted to unveil The Birds as the Ian Potter Sculpture Court 2024-2025 Commission.
Created by artists Jen Berean, Professor Callum Morton, and Linda Tegg, working together within Monash Art Projects (MAP), this innovative temporary installation at Monash University's Caulfield campus reimagines public art to support local biodiversity and continues MUMA's dedication to experimental, interdisciplinary public art.
As part of Melbourne Design Week 2025, MUMA will host a public conversation on Saturday 24 May from 2–3pm, featuring The Birds artists Callum Morton, Jen Berean, and Linda Tegg, moderated by MUMA Director and public art expert Dr Rebecca Coates, exploring the new installation and what happens when the audience for public art is expanded to include birds.
The Birds is the eighth commission in this ongoing series, highlighting MUMA's commitment to integrating art, architecture, and landscape within the Ian Potter Sculpture Court.
Director of MUMA Dr Rebecca Coates said this installation further reinforces Monash as a 'creative campus,' demonstrating how art can support urban biodiversity and spark dialogue within the academic and local communities.
Artist Linda Tegg said The Birds, taking inspiration from the humble birdbath, explores how public art can contribute to the health of the flora and fauna of the sites within which it sits.
"Crafted from rock types that have come from places that the nomadic bird species may have once travelled from, the works hold water and, in some instances, provide shelter, fostering a closer relationship between built environments and urban ecologies," Tegg said.
The sculpture consists of six carved boulders of granite, bluestone, quartz conglomerate, and sandstone. Sourced from a stoneyard; the rocks had previously travelled from surrounding uplands, plains, and rivers.
In early 2024, the artists studied bird activity using found birdbaths, which informed the final placement within the Ian Potter Sculpture Court.
The installation will be monitored in person and via livestream, allowing for ongoing refinement based on bird interactions. Viewers can watch the livestream here
Artists Callum Morton and Jen Berean said at its core, the project asks how we can use public art as a vehicle for learning about the complexities of place.
"Urbanisation has altered habitats, with non-migratory species such as common mynas, rock doves, and little ravens dominating urban spaces. We have started to see the sculptures being used by other species, including bees, a white-necked heron, possums, even a fox. Soon, children will engage with the work through a Monash University research project examining how play and public art shape their perception of the world," the artists added.
Established in 2012, the Ian Potter Sculpture Court Commission invites artists to develop site-responsive works that activate the public space outside MUMA at the Monash University Caulfield campus.
The Sculpture Court, designed collaboratively by Kerstin Thompson Architects, Simon Ellis Landscape Architects, and Fiona Harrisson, received the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects' urban design award in 2011.
About the Artists
Linda Tegg
An artist whose work engages with the interplay between life and the built environment, Linda Tegg creates immersive installations that foster biodiversity in human-centred spaces. Her interdisciplinary collaborations have included co-creative direction of Repair for the Australian Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale and Wetland, presented at Perth Festival in 2024. Her work has been exhibited widely in Australia, the US, and Europe.
Jen Berean
An artist, architect, and Associate Director of MAP, Jen Berean's collaborative practice with Pat Foster (Foster Berean) has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally. Their work interrogates the hidden systems that shape our built environments. Berean has been the recipient of numerous awards and residencies, including the Australia Council residency at the ISCP in New York and the Monash University Prato Visual Arts Residency.
Callum Morton
A leading Australian artist and Professor of Fine Art at Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA), Callum Morton is also the Director of MAP. Morton has exhibited nationally and internationally since 1987, with major public commissions in Australia, Turkey, and the Netherlands. He represented Australia at the Venice Biennale in 2007 and was the subject of a retrospective at Heide Museum of Modern Art in 2011.
