Boolarra Community Historical
Mural
A couple months
after I moved to Boolarra in October 2010, the owner of the local shop, Belinda
asked me if I could paint a mural on the wall behind the shop. I thought a
worthwhile mural should be funded by the community not the shop owner, since it
really belong to the community and it would cost more than the shop owner could
afford. Therefore, I proposed the idea to the Boolarra Community Development
Committee. The committee agreed to pay the cost of the project and I
volunteered my time to do the job.
I set for a research
on the internet, local museum, university, and aged people who could remember
anything of the past. I thought the mural should bring together the past the
present and the future. For the past, I consulted with the Boolarra Historical
Society, which provided me with many images to choose from, including the
Butter Factory which has been destroyed in a fire many years ago. I learned
that in the past, this community had been involved in three major activities:
butter factory, timber mill and trains and railroad. It was clear that these
three activities should be part of the mural; therefore, concentrating on these
activities, I tried to make few scenarios reflecting them. Arranging the images
to make a sensible composition was a challenge for me. I spent about three months to do research and
preparatory arrangement. While going around, I had seen rows of black and white
cows, and I decided to visit the local milk company, and take few pictures to
include in the mural. After I painted them, I asked a member of the Society to
have a look at my preliminary sketches. I was told that in the past there were
no Black and white cows, only Jersey cows were used to supply mild due to its
rich fat content. Now, black and white cow are used since they supply more milk
with less fat content. So, I had to find jersey cows and take some pictures. It
took quite a while until I found a farm with one jersey cow from which I took
few picture. Since then I can spot these cows almost everywhere. My subject
maters for the past got resolved, I thought to paint tow cows from the farm , one black and white
kept for milk and one brown kept for meat. These two cows could represent the
present. Then I decided to paint the portrait of two local young prep students.
I asked the school principle to introduce me to the parents of two kinds, and
she did, so I had subject to represent the future. Along the way a friend of mine
Georg Dunkley volunteered himself to assist me in painting some of the images
which had already been drawn, and I was happy to accept his offer.
On the 26 January,
Australia Day, Daryl White, the Latrobe City Council, Lunched the mural.
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