Totemic, a striking bronze sculpture by Kamilaroi artist Reko Rennie, has been installed at Scape Kensington, Sydney, on Gadigal and Bidjigal land.

It is part of the New Monumental public art series curated by Vital Commons for Scape, also featuring works by Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Monica Rani Rudhar. The series invites artists to create new monuments that reflect the diversity and complexity of contemporary life.

"My focus is to create work that fosters conversation about First Nations practices as a means to deepen the understanding of reconciliation and education, empowering identity through contemporary place making and the built form," Rennie said.

Rennie is a nationally recognised artist known for exploring his identity through contemporary media. His works combine the iconography of his Kamilaroi heritage, merging traditional diamond-shaped designs, hand-drawn symbols, and repetitive patterning to subvert romanticised ideologies of Aboriginal people.

Totemic reinterprets the traditional totem through a contemporary lens, blending ancestral symbolism with bold, urban aesthetics. The sculpture's reflective bronze surface captures light, movement, and the surrounding environment—inviting interaction and shifting perception.

Beneath the sculpture, grey paving stones radiate outward in Rennie's signature diamond pattern, grounding the work in place and tradition. Embodying resilience, identity, and cultural continuity, Totemic encourages reflection on the enduring presence and cultural strength of Aboriginal peoples, and invites viewers to consider the evolving role of monuments in public space.

Rennie's Totemic installation was supported through Randwick City Council Art Collection, Scape, Vital Commons, David Hagger, Sculpture Co., and Gujaga Foundation.