What We Leave Behind, Sydney Festival, 2025

‘What We Leave Behind’ is an invitation to reflect on our actions and their effect on the world around us. Woven into the structure are the hopes and dreams of our community inscribed on each strand of bamboo. It is the coming together of shared and divergent views at a point in time where we take a moment to reflect upon our legacy and our aspirations for future generations.

Woven from 500 locally harvested bamboo poles that were split into 2,500 strands and then each split brought to site to create a tunnel of 25,000 messages. The artwork was created through community participation, guided by Cave Urban. Over the course of 10 days, as the artwork was installed, the messages were gathered and inscribed as the work was woven to create a physical and philosophical fabric for the piece.

The 40-metre-long tunnel was an opportunity to experience a collage of thoughts and views. Each person’s passage through the installation was different, and they were invited to step in and create their own story at their own pace, observing the multiplicity of views shared in common space.

Client: Sydney Festival
Location: Tallawoladah Lawn, Circular Quay, Sydney
Lead Artist: Juan Pablo Pinto
Team: Nici Long, Jed Long, Mercurio Alvarado, Maeve Corke Butters, Erin Zikos, May Baker, Hamish Shorrocks, Taya Solomon, Honey Long, Prue Stent
Engineering: Event Engineering
Steel Fabrication: Eveleigh Works

The Build

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers:

Harvest

Alexia Dermatis
Alfredo Santos Ramírez
Alicia Mardones
Angela Ha
Ashleigh Williams
Atheer Albokhari
Audrey See
Bethany Chamberlain
Célia Lesigne
Dena Rubinstein
Emma Cao
Federico Riches
Isabella Massa
Juliet Nelson
Katie Hubbard
Kevin Zhen
Krishna Patil
Meiling Kwok
Mia Margolis
Nejala Janiola
Pete Deards
Sarah Ong
Sheen Parimoo
Suki Fong
Ting Ting Mabel Loon
Tiresi Kirby
Yuting Zhang

Build

Alessia Francesca Picarel
Alexia Dermatis
Alicia Mardones
Annie Boman
Ashleigh Williams
Bethany Hooper
Billy Hyman
Bridget Annand
Camila Strang
Charu Kukreja
Chloé Lindsay Daye
Christopher Papaioannou
Dena Rubinstein
Emma Cao
Fatima Harun
Iris Xiao
Isabella Zhou
Jason Mumford
Jedda Ayling
Kate Riley
Katie Graham
Kelcie Bryant‐Duguid
Kevin Zhen
Kyo Kim
Laura Cimilo
Laura Fisher
Lilah Shapiro
Linda Agresti
Lisa Stevenson
Liz Mayberry
Lois Hyatt
Maisie Rose Nugent
Meiling Kwok
Mia Margolis
Mikayla Earnshaw
Nejala Janiola
Pete Deards
Rizal Mahoney
Robi Stanton
Sarah Ong
Seamus Fitzpatrick
Sheen Parimoo
Sirintra Sriwattanavanit
Tamara Bowman
Yuanqi Jia
Yuting Zhang
Zoe Hyatt
Zoe Pan