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Purro Birik - (Healthy Spirit)
Design and construction
of the mural
Stage 1
Consultation with the Koori
community to determine what images would be culturally appropriate to
develop as a mural design. How could we create a design, which was
immediately recognisable and welcoming to all Aboriginal people? Were there
images that would not be appropriate for a semi-public space? What about
acknowledging where individual Koori artists had come from? Did this make
their images so personal that other people could not collaborate in work on
these images? Was it O.K. for non-Aboriginal people to collaborate in the
making of these images?
We had also been asked to
include a multicultural aspect to the design. This was challenging, but also
made it possible to include the work of non-Aboriginal people in the mural
without destroying the integrity and personal nature of the totems. After
consultation with the Victorian Transcultural Psychiatry Unit, the handprint
was chosen as a simple statement of individuality and culture (or both).
Participants would be invited to design a personal mosaic handprint and to
have say in its placement in the overall design.
The Koori artists at Splash
were given a choice of being solely responsible for their individual
designs/totems or inviting other people to participate in their
construction. Mostly they were happy and proud for the work to be shared.
A major dilemma after
consultation with Wurundjeri people was the inclusion of the Rainbow Serpent
and the mixing of Wurundjeri and Yorta Yorta totems. In our efforts to make
a design meaningful to all Aboriginal people, we had made the serpent
integral to the design. Unfortunately, Wurundjeri people did not recognise
the Rainbow Serpent; they felt it to be a symbol of evil. After much
discussion and soul searching we agreed on a compromise. We would place the
two major Wurundjeri totems - Bunjil the Eagle and Wang the Crow,
prominently at the top of the design; the Rainbow Serpent would remain,
although we would try to make it less of a feature. It was conceded that
ultimately the mural and process were about healing and spiritual and
emotional support. Perhaps this was more important than adhering to the
rules.
Stage 1 was a process of
much revision as various people were consulted. Finally, everyone was happy
with the result and we were ready to proceed with construction. It was
heartening to hear comments on the completion of the mural, that Koori
people did find the design meaningful and that they were proud of it. Also
that it was obvious that it wasn't traditional and that this was inclusive
and worked well.
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