If you have walked past the entrance to Scape Kensington, you may have noticed a bronze sculpture standing at Todman Square. That work is Totemic by Kamilaroi artist Reko Rennie, one of three large-scale public artworks being installed across Kensington and Kingsford.
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Totemic is part of New Monumental, a public art series curated by Vital Commons for student accommodation provider Scape, with support from Randwick City.
The series forms part of the broader KEKI vision, a precinct transformation anchored by more than $1 billion in investment and guided by Randwick’s Kensington to Kingsford Planning Strategy. Three of Australia’s most celebrated contemporary artists have been commissioned for the project: Reko Rennie, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, and Monica Rani Rudhar.
Totemic, cast in bronze, rises above a field of grey paving stones arranged in Rennie’s signature Kamilaroi diamond pattern, installed at Todman Square, on Gadigal and Bidjigal land. According to Vital Commons, the work “reimagines the role of the monument through a contemporary Aboriginal lens, asserting identity, sovereignty, and cultural endurance in the public realm.”
Vital Commons describes the work as “merging ancestral symbolism with bold urban aesthetics,” and says it invites reflection on presence, resilience, and the ways monuments can speak to history, memory and power.
At Scape Kingsford, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran’s Multi-Headed Reclining Figure has also been installed. The Sri Lankan-born Australian artist’s bronze work is positioned alongside a young frangipani tree and draws on South Asian artistic traditions to explore themes of cultural hybridity and plurality. According to the project’s organisers, the work moves away from conventional heroic monument forms in favour of representations that reflect fluid and contemporary cultural identities.
The third work in the series, Monica Rani Rudhar’s Home Under My Feet and Bells in My Ears, is scheduled for installation at Scape Lachlan later this year. Originally handcrafted in clay before being cast in bronze, the chandelier-like sculpture draws on the artist’s Indian-Romanian heritage. It will be suspended above a rangoli-inspired design embedded into the surrounding paving, exploring themes of migration, memory and cultural connection.
Vital Commons founders and curators Dr Josephine Skinner and Bethan Donnelly have described New Monumental as a platform for artists who are reshaping public discourse through ambitious contemporary works that foster connection and understanding.
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Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker has said the project reflects the council’s commitment to supporting creativity and celebrating local stories, while Scape CEO Anouk Darling has indicated the organisation views place as built through shared cultural experiences as much as physical infrastructure.
New Monumental is curated by Vital Commons for Scape, with support from Randwick City.
Published 13-June-2026
