What do you get when you put five football players in a room and ask them to create a shield using ancient Indigenous tools and modern technology?
A pretty great piece of art.
While the answer may be quite unexpected, the intricate details and design nous provided by these five players was of the utmost care.
The process may have gotten off to a rocky beginning with the boys unsure where to start, but once they got going, the shield pieced together marvellously.
“It was awesome, I didn’t think they were going to do it, I was like where’s the artists in these players,” Saint Catherine’s Indigenous Program Coordinator, Andrew Beck laughed.
“But when it got down to actually putting it together they did a fantastic job and it looks so good.
“They were really meticulous in putting things in place in the right area, and to have a couple of non-Indigenous boys come and help out as well, that speaks reconciliation at the end of the day.
All of the players putting a supreme effort into the shield, even those who were considered ‘less-artistic’.
Ah Chee and Allen rapidly becoming members of the team’s honorary ‘clean up brigade’; their job to sweep away the fine granules of glass.
While Jones couldn’t help but cheekily credit his own ability…
“With a steady hand like me, it was always going to look good,” he laughed jokingly.
But, the goalsneak also understood the meaning behind the matter, and was innately proud of the way the shield turned out.
“We’ve got the Waugul in there which created the way for us, and then we’ve got us in the middle as a meeting place where we’re going to meet and play on the weekend.
“It came out really well and I love it.”
Ah Chee was also pleasantly surprised with the intricate detail that went into the gift, as well as the vibrant colours which melded onto the glass.
“It turned out surprisingly good, first time I’ve ever melted sand on a glass shield, had a few non-Indigenous boys come and help out with the design which is really important with reconciliation and what the club’s all about,” Ah Chee said.
“To have it turn out really well, it’s a bit of a shame to give it away.” he laughed.
“But in all seriousness, it probably took us about 30 minutes to get the design all done, you need a pretty steady hand to do it, so being ultra-careful probably took us an extra hour before it went in the kiln.
“It took us a while, but we wanted it to represent us and Essendon really well.”
“It’s all about just paying our respect to them and hopefully having a good game as well.”
The details include finite granules of glass, with different sizes and different colours, which are then melded onto a blank piece of glass.
It then gets placed into the kiln for 24 hours, where it sets and fuses into the glass.
“Because we’ve got so many Aboriginals from different clan groups and tribes across Australia representing the club, to have them all featured in coloured on the shield, both the Eagles and Essendon, that’s awesome,” Beck said.
“And then through the middle of the shield is a line that represents the Derbal Yerrigan which the Waugul created.
“Then the circle in the centre is the Aboriginal flag, and then that’s also a meeting place which is represented by Optus Stadium. On the outside of it they’ve got symbols that represent people, and they’re the fans coming to watch the sport.
“To have a footy club say we want to make a shield, and to be a part of it is fantastic, it takes it to a national level and showcases our culture at that level.
“It gives a little bit more meaning and shows the importance that a club takes in that.”
