In a suburb best known for black and white stripes, one of Australia’s most renowned street artists hangs twenty storeys above the ground on a scaffold, painting what will be the tallest mural in the Southern Hemisphere.
Four faces will eventually feature on the side of a housing commission building in the centre of Collingwood, three kilometres from Melbourne's CBD.
The 20-storey mural in Collingwood. Source: Nicole Reed
Residents chosen to be featured in the project include six-year-old Arden Watson-Cropley and five-year-old Ni Na Nguyen, both of whom are being raised in the flats by their single mothers.
Arden and his mother Liz live on the ninth floor. Their bathroom window sits behind his eyes on the wall.
Artist Matt Adnate. Source: Nicole Reed
Melbourne street artist, Matt Adnate began painting the mural in August in collaboration with street art collective Juddy Roller, with the aim of breaking down stigmas attached to public housing.
“The people that I’m representing in this mural are the people who live inside the building,” he told SBS News.
The people that I’m representing in this mural are the people who live inside the building. Matt Adnate, artist
“Most of the work I do is to represent the community that I’m painting or the community that’s surrounding the building.”
“I’m always trying to get a sense of pride from all of the people I’m painting and let them feel good about what they’re doing and who they are,” he said.
The 20-storey mural in Collingwood. Source: Nicole Reed
Grandmother Badria Abdo also features in the mural. She came to Australia from Ethiopia as a refugee in 2006 and has lived in the building since 2007.
She told SBS News she felt the mural represented the community and was happy to see her face up so high.
“The mural, when I see my picture there I’m really excited – I didn’t expect like this when they asked me before. I thought this was like a simple thing, but after that one I see I’m very excited and very happy really,” she said.
Local resident Badria Abdo. Source: Supplied / SBS News
Her face will be seen alongside Yulius Antares Taime, a resident who relocated to Australia from West Papua, Indonesia, just over a year ago.
CEO of Juddy Roller, Shaun Hossack, told SBS News he thought the mural was important for Australia because it represented diversity on a large scale.
The idea has been three years in the making, with Victorian Labor minister Richard Wynne backing the project with a $150,000 state grant. Completion of the mural is expected by mid-October.
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