Stawell Mural, June 2025

"The Dream"

In May, Maha and I travelled to Stawell to run a series of creative workshops with the local community. We worked with young people using both pre-cut stencils and freehand techniques, and later facilitated a collage workshop for adults and community leaders. These workshops became a rich source of inspiration and material, which I then used to develop ideas for a large-scale mural that I was commissioned to design.

The mural now sits on the back wall of the Stawell Leisure Centre — a striking piece nearly three storeys high and spanning approximately 40 metres in width. Throughout the project, I engaged closely with the community, gathering their insights, stories, and reflections. I was committed to creating a mural in my own visual style, so I carefully considered how to weave their ideas into my artistic language.

A recurring theme that emerged from the workshops was the importance of family, children, and a strong sense of community. These themes resonated deeply with my own artistic research, which often explores the Australian Dream and suburban life. This project offered a meaningful opportunity to merge the community’s vision with my own, creating a shared narrative that lives on in the mural.

In June Supansa, Maha and myself headed to Stawell for 10 days, it was so cold barely getting over 10c in the afternoons and getting down to - 5 in the mornings, through the rain and the cold we made the mural in spray paint, and brushwork allowing our unique mix of the two to shine in what was probably the most fun I have had painting a mural.

Here is the accompanying statement I presented with the finished work:"

"The Dream"

This design reflects the many impressions I gathered while spending time in Stawell and connecting with its community. Stawell is a town deeply rooted in family — where generations often live side by side, and children are central to daily life. They are nurtured, talked about, celebrated. In Stawell, it truly takes a village to raise a child, and this shared sense of care and community shapes the town’s values and aspirations.

Many locals embrace their own version of the Australian Dream — the home, the kids, a stable job, weekends filled with footy games, summer BBQs around the swimming pool, and the steady excitement of building a future together. This mural captures that spirit through bright colours, layered compositions, and symbolic imagery that nods to childhood wonder and future potential. Elements like the infinite window, the spaceman, the football field, and the running track all suggest a world of possibility — a future open to exploration, growth, and imagination.

Stawell is more than just a town — it's a place with a strong identity, where everyone is welcomed and treated with respect. It isn’t a city or a suburb; it’s a close-knit community with a distinctive personality. Its history is long and layered, shaped by farmers, immigrants, Indigenous people, teachers, café owners, and local leaders — all living together in quiet harmony beneath the breathtaking presence of the Grampians. The mountains, water features, and natural beauty of Gariwerd serve as a powerful backdrop to this story — a reminder of the enduring connection between land, people, and possibility.

Yes, that is a self portrait of me as a suburban robot super hero.

A house that is often found in the Northern grampians and western Victoria in the late nineteenth and twentieth century in the colours of the Simpsons house.

Heres some video of 'the dream' to help with scale.

Thanks to Tina Baker, for believing in my vision and the Northern Grampians Shire Council for allowing me such an awesome opportunity