The artworks were created by Jimmi Buscombe, renowned Warrnambool artist, together with Saige Bell, a talented young local Aboriginal artist. Together they have brought a beautiful and meaningful masterpiece to life on our walls.
It was important to both Jimmi and Saige, that the concepts were born out of the idea of collaboration, reconciliation and mutual respect. As artists, they did not want either artists’ works to be seen as foreground or background. Each artist designed their own parts of the mural with the knowledge these would be merged together into a singular cohesive form. The mural colours and their relationship to both each other and the landscape image of Budj Bim Cultural Landscape made combining the two designs quite effortless.
Both artists collaborated on how to manipulate both designs to achieve the desired outcome. The artwork contains travelling footprints of people bringing a wonderful act of strength, the footprints taking their own path and walking their own journey. These footprints also lead off becoming the footprints of the Emus and Kangaroos, connecting we humans to the natural world – two become one, much like the artworks of the mural.
In Saige’s own words, her design “Is something I came up with that represents a dreaming story special to the Gunditjmara people”.
In Jimmi’s own words: “part of the design reflects the lands and waterways of Budj Bim to which I have added many of the species given to me by Aunty Jan Lovett as important to the local area and significant to the Gunditjmara people. I have added spear grass, wallaby grass and kangaroo grass to the mural, with background trees of wattle and manna gum”.
ARTWORK STORY:
This artwork tells the dreamtime story of the 4 giant brothers that laid to rest within Gunditjmara Country.
When one of the brothers, Budj Bim, formed with the land he released his blood and teeth out, what we know as the lava flow.
This lava flow helped form different shapes into the country that the Gunditjmara people were able to manipulate, and farm eels.
The stone, known as Budj Bims teeth, was also used to build huts for shelter and used for tools and weapons for our ancestors.
Budj Bim helped the Gunditjmara people thrive on country and strengthen their connections to the land and animals.
