Artwork Description
The Woolloomooloo community view the mural as an acknowledgement of local history as well as a project they have been deeply involved in.
– Rosano Snooze
Woolloomooloo is home to a broad variety of residents. An established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, high income professionals and public housing tenants all call the suburb home
Woolloomoolife is a community mural which allowed artists to work directly with local residents to create a site-specific public artwork. Youth and Family Connect held a series of community consultation sessions where the community participated in the initial ideas and design process. Participants from 7 to 75 years of age engaged in the process, reflecting the unique and diverse demographic of this tight knit community.
The foreground characters in the mural represent the multicultural community and locally supported teams, the Rabbitohs and the Roosters. Starting with Aboriginal peoples, the images reveal a loose lineal representation of the waves of immigrants who have settled in the area.
The background elements feature St Mary’s Cathedral and the Art Gallery of NSW, the southern and northern most points of Woolloomooloo. These icons of Sydney’s sandstone foundation are supported by images important to the local community. These include a 1950s Italian fishing boat, a Sydney Harbour mullet, the city skyline, a fruit bat, Woolloomooloo Bay, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, and a representation of the Aboriginal flag.
Artists
Youth and Family Connect (YFC) is a not for profit registered charity operating in Woolloomooloo. The group organises community cultural arts and sporting events, and provides foodto those in need. Connecting kids, youth, and families and other community service providers, YFC is committed to the alleviation of poverty.
The team consisted of Rosano Snooze, Mikey Freedom and Matthew Mistery. All team members have a long history in street art stretching back to the mid 1980s.
Rosano Snooze is the founder of Woolloomoolivin’, the biannual festival of urban arts and culture.
