Kandos residents will have a lasting reminder of the area’s Aboriginal heritage and the 2015 Cementa Arts Festival, thanks to writer, curator, and artist Djon Mundine.
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Mr Mundine is painting a mural on one of the exterior walls of the Kandos Museum as part of the Cementa Festival.
The work, titled A Man – A Woman, will be one of the only works to remain in Kandos once Cementa ends on Sunday.
Mr Mundine, of the Bundjalung people, said the mural was based on original photographs of King Jimmy and Queen Peggy Lambert and was a way of permanently recognising the Aboriginal presence in the area.
He said A Man – A Woman was designed to be completed as easily as possible so members of the local community can help to complete part of the mural, regardless of their age or artistic ability.
“This element of trying to get community members involved came from a previous project I did in Taree,” he said.
“Not everyone is an artist, not everyone’s a painter, but with the idea of finger painting, which is something taught in school, it allows everyone in the community to take part.”
Mr Mundine said the main aim of the community involvement was to get local Aboriginal descendants of Peggy and Jimmy to take part in the project.
As well as the figures of Jimmy and Peggy, the mural depicts the Kandos environment in the hills behind the museum, and images of Peggy’s “Queen of the Dabee” silk sash and Jimmy’s breastplate.
Mr Mundine said the idea was to bring Aboriginal people back into the history of Rylstone and Kandos.
“There are times when people forget just how important people like Peggy and Jimmy were to history, which is where the idea for the mural comes from,” he said.
“I’m hoping as many Aboriginal people as possible come along and help us complete the project,” he said.
Community members will be able to get their own fingers messy and help complete the project on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from about 9am.