Mural by Joanne Cassady

ARTWORK CONCEPT :

The concept behind the design is inspired by the existing art and culture in Marrickville. The concept is to add to what is and was in and a part of Marrickville. The blue in the artwork represents the Cooks River. The circles represent community. It is an aerial view of people sitting around camp, complementing the public meeting/sitting area where the mural will be located. The white circles and lines represent journey symbols, as people are always travelling through the area. The animals represent the array of food sources available now and traditionally.

The mural includes the traditional name of Marrickville and Cooks River in the Gadigal language "Bulanaming". 

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Joanne is a self-taught artist and mother of six, with five sons and one daughter as well as a doting grandmother. Joanne is a descendant of the Wiradjuri & Yorta Yorta Nations, located in NSW & VIC. Joanne’s Wiradjuri totem is the goanna & her Yorta Yorta totem is the turtle, which gives her inspiration to recreate throughout her artwork. Joanne began painting at 20 years of age and her background stems from running art stalls at markets & conferences nationally, participating in and creating street art murals as well as holding various exhibitions, completing commissioned works, teaching & educating through art
workshops.

As a professional artist, Joanne utilises her skills as a means of education for cultural awareness, having experience working with both adults and children alike. This allows opportunities to deliver personal experiences and share her culture in art workshops and art therapy. Joanne was born & raised in Sydney NSW and grew up in the suburbs of Redfern and Waterloo. Joanne faced many challenges from a very young age, choosing not to become a victim. Choosing art, its meaning to her as an artist is deeper than paint on canvas. It tells of her stories, her culture & language. Joanne’s art is as contemporary as she is. As an artist she love’s to challenge herself, branching out to try new things artistically.

“My art means a whole lot of different things to me, first of all, it’s therapy. I found a way to escape and go somewhere beautiful even if my world is not feeling beautiful”.