Good side of graffiti, bringing children together

The English artists Rosie Woods painted a stunning and colourful cockatoo in the new post office building at Emu Park in Queensland. The graffiti impressed all the residents and brought together children that were interested in the artists’ process.

Rosie was commissioned by the Livingstone Shire Council as part of the Placemaking program to paint a mural. The artist mentioned that the inspiration for the mural came from Keppel, where a naughty Cockatoo called Ernie inhabits, and while the graffiti is not directly Ernie, it is based on him and the wildlife of the island. She also mentioned that the artwork is an abstraction of the wind, energy and water of the place, mixed with bright colours, which she thinks they reflect the place and the time she spent in Great Keppler Island.

The technique she used was only spray paint, no paint brush was required, that is why the final result has a huge impact on the viewers, because it reflects a great use of the technique. Rosie also explained that spray painting allows you to obtain different textures so it is more adequate for large scale artwork. She also commented on the popularity of this technique and how it has gained momentum through social media platforms like Instagram, because people are getting inspired by what they see and what can be achieved with spray paint.

Rosie stated that working in Australia has been a whole new experience because the difference in temperatures compared to England, creates more pressure in the cans, which translates to having a lot of difficulty in controlling the amount of paint that comes out. Additionally, the humidity factor blocks up the caps, so a bigger amount of cans had to be considered.

Probably the most positive side of the graffiti was the inspiration brought to children that looked impressed by the technique and the bright colours. A couple of kids were there the entire process and learnt how to spray paint with Rosie, they even helped to fill in some areas. The council should be considering to apply a protective coat so the bright mural is protected against tagging and unwanted graffiti attacks.