Regina Botros and Trisha Starrs talk with the conceptual artist and creator of Four Thousand Fish, EMILY MC DANIEL.

In 1790 British colonists hauled in an excessive four thousand fish in one day, disrupting the delicate ecosystem that the accomplished Aboriginal fisherwomen of Warrane (Sydney Harbour) had preserved for millennia, and undermining the women’s status as the main food providers for family and community.

Join us at this large scale art installation to celebrate fisherwoman Barangaroo, the influential and resilient Cammeraygal woman after whom the place is named. On 10 special days across the Festival, Four Thousand Fish invites you to visit Nawi Cove and create your own frozen fish using sea water and a cast mould.

Across each weekend of the Festival, you can help return the ice sculptures to an artist’s modern interpretation of a traditional nawi (bark canoe) with a fire lit inside, where the heat and the setting sun will slowly melt and return the frozen fish to the Harbour.

The nawi fire installation without the ice fish sculptures can be seen every day during the Festival between 7pm-10pm. However, to make the most of this experience and take part in the returning of the fish, we suggest scheduling your visit to coincide with sunset on a Saturday or Sunday or the 5 & 26 of January.