The Tipping Point team, who develop projects for Friends of the Earth Australia, commissioned Blak Douglas to paint Coalface, his latest mural in Redfern in the heart of the electorate of the Minister for the Environment and Water.
On Friday May 17 community members joined the Tipping Point team to launch the mural on the corner of Redfern and Pitt streets.
In his artist’s statement, Blak said: “My intent with this mural was to depict the fragility of fauna against the wrath of coal mining. I chose to feature the Koala in this instance because what we are consistently finding is that this incredibly cute marsupial remains at the fore of the fight for preservation in NSW, not only in itself but its natural habitat.
“There is a key element that exists here on this continent that remains spiritually evasive to many, particularly those who observe life through economic eyes. There is a reason why rare species of flora and fauna exist upon a landscape that contains desirable minerals. These species are totems and caretakers of dreamings …”
