Monuments for Fishes, Watermans Cove, Sydney, 2026

A major new public artwork, and one of the largest floating and kinetic artworks in the world, is unveiled in Watermans Cove at Barangaroo South. The artwork by acclaimed contemporary Australian artist Mikala Dwyer is titled Monuments for Fishes, and marks the culminating piece commissioned by Lendlease in partnership with Infrastructure NSW for its broader Public Art and Cultural Plan for Barangaroo. 

The large-scale work features five sculptural monuments rising to 23 metres above sea level from the harbour, inspired by lightweight fishing floats and paying homage to Indigenous fisherwomen. Crafted from carbon fibre, fibreglass and steel – the same materials used to make yachts – the monuments respond to the surrounding environment, swaying with the tides, winds and currents, and resonating with the changing light and reflections. 

Mikala Dwyer created Monuments for Fishes in collaboration with Event Engineering. They drew on over 100 specialists to help design and build this majestic work in Australia, including engineers, shipwrights, spray-painters and steel welders and machinists. Artist Mikala Dwyer said: “It started with something you could hold in your hand — a simple fishing float, striped and lightweight, sitting in my studio. Blown up to a grand scale at Watermans Cove, this gathering of buoyant forms becomes a barometer of the harbour’s energy cycles. I wanted to pay homage to the fisherwomen who worked these waters, and to the sea life beneath.” 

“With Monuments for Fishes, Mikala Dwyer makes an extraordinarily complex creative challenge look like a walk on water. Conceived for this unique site, with its layers of human history and use, Dwyer takes inspiration from a contemporary form of recreation that was once important to the sustenance of the Cammeraygal woman Barangaroo and her people. Taking on the brief to create a public sculpture on the harbour itself, Dwyer transforms the humble yet elegantly engineered fishing float into a vibrant and majestic gathering of playfully bobbing forms. ”

- Nicholas Baume, Lendlease Art Advisory Panel Member

“Monuments for Fishes reflects the character and history of Sydney Harbour and adds another layer to how people experience Barangaroo. Its unveiling marks the completion of our public art program for Barangaroo, which has delivered five permanent artworks over more than a decade, contributing to a vibrant and culturally-rich precinct.”

- Daniel Baxter, Executive Director of Development for NSW/ACT