Mural Work [2018]
Vöökiri [Belt Pattern] Mural
painted brick, Estonian House, 150x1000cm'Vöökiri (Belt Pattern)' is a site-specific mural located within Sydney Estonian House at 141 Campbell St, Surry Hills, NSW. Completed between the 7-13th December 2018, in time for the 2018 Estonian Festival [Eesti Päevad], the work came around as a call to action for community participation especially by younger adults who perhaps do not get opportunities to express their own vision for the house. In going over the mural, the work has traditional roots in Estonian iconography and also borrows from the Australian landscape particularly from the area around Thirlmere, with the four colours representative of: eucalyptus, ochre, dark soil and oxidised rusty metal typical of rural regions. The work attempts to bridge a gap between both traditional works by Gunnar Neeme and introduce more contemporary visions for the hall.
Lõngad [Threads] Proposal
painted corrugated metal, 200cmx3000cm
‘Lõngad’ Mural Proposal:
'Lõngad (Threads)' is a site-specific mural celebrating Estonian culture and reflecting on Estonian assimilation and contribution to the rich tapestry of contemporary Australian life. Spanning over 30m, the fence borders Sydney Estonian House and James Hilder Reserve playground and uses traditional women’s folk-dancing costume patterns to comment upon identity, culture, and multiculturalism within Australia.
For Australian-Estonians, 2018 marks several important dates including the 100th Anniversary of Estonian Independence, the 80th Anniversary of the formation of the Estonian House Co-op and the upcoming Sydney XXVII Eesti Päevad that briefly reunites Estonians spread across Australia.
The mural’s fourteen panels represent each county’s regional women’s dress patterns, taking on a metaphorical meaning as the story or ‘yarn’ spun over decades by the many individual ‘threads’ has helped create the rich fabric of contemporary Australian society. The work explores how the concept of national identity is formed upon the complex and invisible interwoven factors that bind individuals to one another. Estonians, united by a shared ancestry, language, and culture, are bound to one another like the threads of a woven textile.
The spectrum of colours represents the collaborative nature of a multicultural society where individual threads contribute to a larger, meaningful and beautiful work. The mural brings life to an otherwise bland fence and both celebrates traditional handicrafts and reminds us to preserve aspects of culture at risk of being lost to mass production and globalisation. ‘Lõngad (Threads)’ invites us to celebrate our differences and unify under the shared banner of diversity and multiculturalism.