Public Art
Bowraville Mural | Macksville Riverbank Project | Nambucca Mosaics | Scotts Head Mosaics | V-Wall

BOWRAVILLE MURAL

The Bowraville Community mural was completed and launched on February 15th, 2003 by the artists: Jenny Arkle, Martin Ballangarry, Nellie Gallop-Brennan, Kerry Kelly and Isle Noble. The mural is an aerial view over the Bowraville catchment, depicting the mountains, native animals and plants. The story of the mural is one of reconciliation, the dream time and the blending of cultures. The mural shows the flight of two young women, one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous led by an eagle, who cries "Why walk, when you can fly?" The eagle is a significant symbol of other cultures as well as of the Nambucca Valley and shows how harmony of the land can be viewed from above.The mural was the first joint project completed by five of the local community including Gumbaynggirr and non-indigenous community. The mural was funded by a grant from The Australian Council for the Arts called 'Land, Art, People for Reconciliation' and was supported by the Bowraville Alliance.
The Bowraville Community mural can be viewed opposite the Phoenix building on the northern wall of the Eliza and Joseph Newman Folk Museum.


MACKSVILLE RIVERBANK PROJECT


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The Macksville Riverbank Project took six months to complete and was launched on December 10th, 2005. The Riverbank Project was the initiative of Sue Harvey and Keven Smith and involved Work for the Dole participants, TAFE art students from Muurbaay Language Centre and local Nambucca Valley school students. This collaboration resulted in 30 painted panels depicting historical images of the township as well as mapping local Gumbaynggirr history. The artworks engage the viewer with Nambucca's history in the beautifully scenic setting of the Nambucca River. The project was also supported by Nambucca Valley Youth Services Centre. The Macksville Riverbank Project can be viewed on the west side of the Macksville Bridge along the retaining wall adjacent to the river at Macksville.



NAMBUCCA MOSAICS


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The Guy Crosley mosaic 'Fish & Chips' is located in Nambucca Heads wrapping around the Police Station on Bowra Street and Ridge Street. Work on the gigantic 50 metre mural commenced in 1996 and was completed in 2000. The work is a stylised and symbolic geographical map of the area.

Starting from the serpentine deep sea: sharks, whales, rays and schools of fish begin their journey to the shore, through exotic waves of tile and rock into the Smokey Cape Bay, passing the headlands, through the river mouth onto the break-wall and along the river passing the ugly brick suburbs and pastureland to Macksville, over the hills and forests to the fertile earth beyond. All types of earthly and airborne characters adorn these landscapes. Beneath the colourful and glossy facade there is a dark undercurrent that surfaces including a large drunken octopus with three pigs in the clutch of his tentacles, monsters that dwell within the waves that wait offshore and a rainbow serpent wrapped around a gold topped mushroom where people await a magic bus to arrive. "Fish & Chips" is a fantastic public artwork that is hard to miss and amazing to look at!

Every piece of "Fish & Chips" was constructed from ceramics and objects donated or specifically made by artists locally and from around the world. Guy Crosley was assisted by local volunteers, school children and art students from TAFE Outreach.


SCOTTS HEAD MOSAICS
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Guy Crosley has created a series of mosaics at the Scotts Head Reserve including the "Whale Tale" table and seats at Main Beach beyond the car park, the community project the "Last Wave" at the amenities block and a series of panels "Save Our Souls" in 2001.
The "Whale Tale" table and seats take pride of place overlooking the stunning views of the rocks and Main Beach. The table and seats edged in bright blue and white tiles reflect the blue ocean and white sands and are painted with a fusion of patterned fish and birds. The "Last Wave" panels depicts a spiralling wave of a skeleton, figurative surfers, flocks of birds and a lizard that forms the sandy beach leading away to the distant headlands. The Crosley mosaics are panoplies that reveal worlds beneath and are a stunning part of the public art available on offer to the viewer in the Nambucca area.

Guy Crosley was assisted by workshop assistants and local children through Australia Council, NSW Ministry for the Arts, Arts Mid North Coast and Scotts Head Reserve Trust funding and assistance.

The Scotts Head Mosaics are located at Scotts Head Reserve in Adin Street.


V-WALL


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The V-Wall at Nambucca Heads was built in the early 1900's and for at least 30 years it has been an open air gallery for anyone with a brush and paint to express their creative side. From overseas tourists expressing their thoughts in Japanese to romantic marriage proposals or holidaying families returning each year to make their mark with clever cartoons, it is a very entertaining and spectacularly scenic walk. Everyone is welcome to leave their mark at the V-Wall located at the end of Wellington Drive at Nambucca Heads.