Thomas Jackson, Weave Youth Mural (2018), Waterloo, Sydney. Photography by Billy Zammit. Commission delivered by ART AID for Weave Youth & Community.
A mural for Waterloo, grounded in four weeks on the street.
Weave Youth & Community Services has worked with disadvantaged and vulnerable young people, women, children, and families across the City of Sydney and South Sydney for over 35 years. When Weave came to ART AID in 2018, we already knew the neighbourhood, because we had spent a month asking it what it wanted.
Weave Youth Mural, Waterloo. Photography by Billy Zammit.
The research
Before this commission existed, ART AID director Christopher Skyner spent four weeks on the streets of Redfern and Waterloo, speaking with locals about public art in their area. Over the month we interviewed more than 160 people, asking six simple questions. Every single person interviewed agreed that more art would be appreciated in the area.
The City of Sydney puts the case this way: "Art in public places is one of the indicators of a flourishing cultural life. It can add joy, texture and complexity to the public domain, help to define our places, tell our stories, and preserve our memories for future generations." Our research told us Waterloo agreed. The Weave commission was a chance to act on it.
Thomas Jackson, Weave Youth Mural. Photography by Billy Zammit.
The artist
Thomas Jackson, originally from the UK, draws his inspiration from the Australian landscape. His murals take the form of contemporary natural history illustration, spanning the full spectrum of flora and fauna investigation, from scientific plant and animal specimens through to entomology and taxidermy. In the gallery, his work becomes smaller, intricate, and meticulous. Central to his practice is field research: representing the ever changing landscape and its inhabitants, unique to each place and community. For a commission built on a month of listening to a neighbourhood, the fit was right.
The completed mural at Waterloo. Photography by Billy Zammit.
With thanks to Thomas Jackson for the work. To Billy Zammit for the photography. And to Weave Youth & Community for 35 years of showing up for the young people of this city, and for trusting us with a wall.
ART AID is a public art and cultural consultancy working at the intersection of art, community, and place. To find out more about our work visit art-aid.co or follow @artaidau.
