Image: Photo: Newtown Graffiti
By ZAC CRELLIN
An inner west mural by Portuguese-Australian artist Luis Geraldes has found a new home outside the underpass of Petersham Station.
Entitled Fragile World in Constant Expansion, the mural has been removed from its former site on the corner of Audery Street and New Canterbury Road in Petersham to allow for the redevelopment of the site.
Though the removal from the former site was seen as inevitable by the Marrickville Council, debate arose in the community as to the where the mural was to be moved.
The new location won the support of local MP Anthony Albanese, who previously spoke out against any relocation of the mural due to the significance of the original, highly-visible site.
“It’s great news that the mural has been kept in the Portuguese precinct at Petersham and that its new location will mean it is seen by even more people,” Mr Albanese told City Hub.
“The Portuguese community leaders I have spoken to are very pleased with the outcome.”
The community organisation Portuguese in Australia had also called for the mural to be relocated to an equally prominent site, following a petition to save the mural in 2014.
The organisation noted that the mural, constructed using techniques dating back to the 15th century, was “made of 8,000 traditional hand painted tiles which took 14 months
to put together and is of cultural, social and emotional significance to the Portuguese community in Marrickville”.
“The mural is a fixture of the [Bairro Portuguese Festival] and an iconic meeting point in Petersham’s ‘Little Portugal’,” the organisation’s statement said.
In May, Sydney Trains advised council that it would not consent to the relocation, as the plan involved fixing the mural to the heritage boundary walls of the station.
But now, the new proposal positions the mural in front of the wall with a self-supporting frame.
Decided during a community consultation, the relocated mural is set to be unveiled next year at the Bairro Portuguese Festival on March 12 or on the Portuguese National
Day on June 10.
You May Also Like
