Wadandi Boodjarra
Image source Margaret River Art Trails
Artist: Sandra Hill, Ian Mutch, Jack Bromell
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: Margaret River Main Street
Provenance: Shire of Augusta Margaret River
Description: Wadandi Boodjarra pays homage to the Traditional Custodians of the southwest, the Wadandi First Nations people. It depicts Wadandi home country, local flora and iconic forest red-tailed black cockatoos, and celebrates ongoing connection to earth, sky, ocean, rivers and bloodlines of generations past, present and future.
Ian Mutch has drawn on his expertise in painting photo-realistic birds to create the forest red-tails. These are native to the southwest and provide a sense of place, belonging and cultural significance.
The Indigenous icons painted by Sandra Hill feature a strong red line on the corner of the building that runs from top to bottom. This line symbolises the family blood line all the way back to the ancient Wadandi creation story of the Margaret River (place of Wooditch). The central brown circle depicts home country, Wadandi Boodjarra (Wadandi home country). The patterns in the middle circle are the traditional markings on shields. The red circle symbolises old, ancient blood. The black line circle symbolises community. The ochre dots on the outside symbolise family clan groups.
Jack Bromell illustrated marri branches with leaves and flowers to highlight a sense of place through connection with native wildlife and ancient culture. The marri tree is a species native to the southwest, and its name derives from the local Noongar language. Forest red-tails can frequently be found perched amongst marri branches feeding on nuts and flowers, which are an important food source.