Community, connections, conversation.

Wominjeka. I stopped for a coffee at Thomson Street Foodstore while I was out walking for my daily exercise and had a chat with Simon who was adding to the Mural on the side of the building. Simon is Indigenous but his family is part of the stolen generation and he was brought up just about as white bread as I was. His has been a journey of learning about his history and making connections to culture. Mine has been a process of unlearning the racist, sexist, homophobic culture I was raised in in a Queensland country town.

Simon works at the cafe as well as being an artist involved with Cork and Chroma in Collingwood (when there’s isn’t a Pandemic mucking things up). The mural was originally inspired by Ailsa who lives close by and who is also responsible for a lot of the native gardens surrounding the cafe as well as the bushfood that grows in the courtyard (again, when there isn’t a pandemic in the way). I didn’t meet Ailsa but will keep an eye out for her on future walks.

More familiar with a canvas, this is Simon’s first in situ art work. His contribution on this day is a version of the Three Wise Monkey’s - Hear, See, Speak. We need to hear what our First Nations People have to say. We need to see them, their history, their culture. We need to talk with them, to understand. The overall message of the mural seems to tie in nicely with the recent Black Lives Matter protests. I’m sure Simon could give a more detailed explanation and if he stops by the blog he might leave some info in the comments? Or better still, if you’re in the area, stop and day g’day, he’s more than happy to have a chat and explain the many facets of the work and the symbolism . One word that stands out is VOICE and the power of art in communicating is evident in this work.

The colour palette was chosen in part to depict the many colours of skin and to not judge a person or their history, heritage or culture, based on the colour of their skin. As a white skinned indigenous person, Simon’s experience of his Aboriginality is an ongoing journey to connect to his history and culture.

The youth in the area have been invited to be part of the mural by adding their hand prints and this was an important part of building community and education.

The mural is on the corner of Thomson and William St in Northcote (it’s actually in between Fairfield and Dennis stations but technically it’s Northcote). If you’re out exercising in these Covid times, put this on your route and call in for a coffee and check out the artwork.

PS. The coffee’s good too.

(Note: If I’ve said anything inappropriate I’m happy to be corrected so I can learn and make changes. Please let me know in the comments or send me a message via the website. Thanks)