The newly completed mural on the walls of our BioShack is yet another great reason to visit the Sanctuary when you next visit us.
Jimmy Dvate, a contemporary painter renowned for his large-scale public murals, recently completed the work and said, ‘I had the best time at the Sanctuary, it was an amazing experience and I felt very lucky to have the opportunity to work on this project.’
Jimmy’s work pays homage to the local ecology, focusing on the flora and fauna native to the Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary and the relationship between local species, including the Victorian critically endangered Matted Flax-lily which relies on the Blue-Banded Bee for pollination.
Another species featured on the mural is the Gang-gang Cockatoo, which was listed as endangered following the devastating 2019/2020 bushfires. Each year around autumn, the local flock of Gang-gang Cockatoos return to the Sanctuary, however had not been seen this year until Jimmy commenced his work.
In his second week on the project, Jimmy started to paint the Gang-gang Cockatoo wall – and at the same time a flock of twelve birds started hanging out in the trees above him every day.
Of his feathered observers, Jimmy said, ‘they would come in around the same time each arvo and I would always stop and grab some photos when I heard their distinct call. This continued for the rest of the project, at times they would even land in the trees directly above me, like they were making sure I painted them well!’
Jimmy’s positive experience was partly due to the ‘peaceful surrounds’ of the Sanctuary but he also attributes it to ‘working with the really awesome and knowledgeable [Sanctuary] team … everyone I met was super positive and accommodating.’
When you do see the mural, you’ll be impressed at the level of detail in the paintings – something that Jimmy noted was a particularly challenging part of the project due to ‘the size and amount of detail and colour; but he says, ‘it was also the most rewarding too’.
As Jimmy was working on the mural, he made sure to take advantage of his surroundings. He said, ‘I really got to know the area well, taking different lunch walks each day, there was always something new to see.’
