A 31-storey portrait of Indigenous leader William Barak has been unveiled on the façade of an apartment building in Melbourne.
The 85-metre face has been composed on the white concrete balconies of the former Carlton & United Brewery Site on Swanston Street, using a simple block print-making technique.
The building was created in collaboration with elders from the Wurundjeri tribe in Melbourne and Perth-based designers from ARM Architecture.
It has been formally launched, but will continue to undergo minor alternations for six months before being officially completed.
David Waldren, the national design manager behind the building, said designers "think his eyes are not as accurate as they should be."
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"There is also work we want to do around his beard and moustache to make it like the beard and moustache he had when he was painting out at Coranderrk,” he told Fairfax Media.
William Barak was an elder of the Melbourne’s Wurundejeri community and a well-respected figure before his death in 1903. Often called the “King of Yarra”, Barak was an artist and a pioneer for Indigenous justice.
It’s believed he attended the signing of the first treaty between white settlers and Aboriginals in 1835.
It is hoped the building will act as a symbolic cultural contribution to the city.
