Large-scale development may be threatening Canberra's reputation as the bush capital, but the locals' relationship with nature is being celebrated in a new bronze sculpture unveiled on Saturday morning.
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Artists Suzie Bleach and Andrew Townsend created the piece, titled A Delicate Moment, to replace Giovanna Ianniello and Gerard Murphy's sculpture Stepping Out after the latter was stolen from the Hughes Shopping Centre in 2016.
Residents were left devastated by the theft of the much-loved Stepping Out, which represented women and served as a reminder of community values in Hughes. The suburb is named for former prime minister William Hughes, and its street names memorialise predominantly male war veterans.
Ms Bleach and Mr Townsend said A Delicate Moment embodied the qualities of dignity and strength.
The woman in the new sculpture cradles a large bird in her arms, in a nod to humans' bond with nature.
"Many cultures believe birds symbolise eternal life - a link between Earth and heaven, the mundane and the spiritual," the artists said.
"Birds are free to roam, to migrate with the seasons and evoke notions of liberation, independence and free will. They are harbingers of the new day and of spring, a potent symbol of positive renewal and mystery.
"Together the woman and bird speak of symbiosis, of empathy, trust, nurture, of rescue, comfort, fragility and protection."
Arts Minister Gordon Ramsay said the work embraced the community's vision of a nostalgic, imaginative and playful artwork.
"I hope this new piece not only fills the gap left by the original artwork, but creates its own place in our shared history," he said.