This sculptural installation was inspired by and celebrates the eight women who were involved in lighting the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Cauldron. Seven of Australia's greatest female Olympic athletes Betty Cuthbert, Raelene Boyle, Dawn Fraser, Shirley Strickland, Shane Gould, Debbie Flintoff-King, and Cathy Freeman carried the Torch in the Opening Ceremony to light the Olympic Cauldron. The ceremonial medley was a tribute to a century of women's participation in the Olympic Games and a reminder of the huge contribution women have made to Australian Olympic history. The eighth women represented is Australian Paralympian Louise Sauvage, who ignited the Paralympic Cauldron.

Rather than a one-to-one correspondence between a particular athlete and particular form, in this group portrait, individual attributes are interwoven into a collective whole. ‘Eight women’ is an image of athletic energy, achievement and commemoration.