Gotta hold on you

A stay-at-home mural festival for our planet was a global, open call for artists to paint murals in the safety of their homes while sheltering in place due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. No event like this had ever been attempted and the project ran its course on social media which artists shared their creations. George was one of the few Australian participants and was interviewed via a live stream through Zoom to a worldwide audience.

George transformed a drab white wall at home into a visionary canvas to inspire a brighter future. In response to Covid-19, and in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22), HOME became the world’s first stay-at-home environmental mural festival.

What made George’s final piece stand out was the colour vibrancy attributed to the Resene product she used. The photographs were documented on a dreary, grey Melbourne day – and in turn made the mural pop off the wall.

George’s mural depicts a bouquet of Australian Natives – loosely held in a hand. The work questions the ability of humans to hold nature in their hands and the extent to which we hold the future of the nature that we adore so much. Bouquets are both held as objects of beauty but also in their nature are an object of destruction having been harvested by human hands.

Working with what she had on hand, the work is painted in Resene Chetwode Blue, Resene Geronimo, Resene Governor Bay, Resene Riptide, Resene Smitten and Resene Black.

This project is part of a body of work that won the Resene Total Colour Visual Art Award. The judges said "an incredible body of work, bold interpretations and colour palettes bring streetscapes and public spaces to life in a true celebration of colour and artistry. The works are so over scaled to suit each environment. With an underlying style, the art is reinvented with each brief so that each work truly shines on its own. Harnessing an enviable eye for colour, the colour palettes and proportions are beautifully and brilliantly intertwined."

Artist: George Rose
Artist representation: Eddie Zammit
Client: Home
Photographer: Holly Hawkins
Winner: Resene Total Colour Visual Art Award
Project: Resene Total Colour Awards 2020