Sim Luttin
Welcome/ Un-welcome

The belief that Australia is a lucky country with an easy-going lifestyle and a welcoming community is real for many people who live here or visit. This ideal is promoted beyond our shores by our tourism industry. Nonetheless when entering the country - even as an Australian resident - the first steps off a plane are less than welcoming. The border security process to gain access is cold, formal and is an adverse experience for some people. It can be intimidating, confusing and extremely unwelcoming.   ​

One might be forgiven for thinking the first impression of our country should be inviting: that it ought to reveal something about who we are and reflect the diversity of our cultures, at the same time acknowledging and celebrating our First Nations people. It should be expected - as a democratic, innovative, first world island nation - that we consider how people feel in those first moments as the plane touches down. ​

The Welcome/Un-welcome lei responds to the unwelcome reception visitors encounter as they enter our country. The word ‘welcome’ is engraved in different languages on the surface of the handmade blackened gum leaves threaded together, so the greeting is hidden. In this way, Welcome / Un-welcome garland is ominous rather than welcoming, devoid of celebratory ritual, emulating the current reality experienced by arrivals to our shores.