Chrysalis Projects has announced its flagship project as a mural by Vernon Ah Kee to be produced on the external walls above Avid Reader Bookstore in Boundary Street.
The flagship creation of Chrysalis Projects 4101 will transform the literary hub of Brisbane’s iconic West End – Avid Reader – into a major landmark public artwork. The work will celebrate a curated list of Brisbane authors, whose names will fill square tiles in bold black and white text. This mosaic of word play will be overlaid by dark surfboard shields, which will feature the names of Brisbane Aboriginal authors in Vernon’s own handwriting.
Chrysalis Porject is a concept that Rebecca McIntosh has been developing for the last year with Carmel Haugh as a response to COVID and its decimation of the creative sector, hospitality, retail and the disruption to community cohesion particularly in the suburb of West End. It’s an artist led solution to fragile proof the arts with philanthropy at its heart.
“Vernon is a globally recognised contemporary artist and a founding member of proppaNOW, an internationally respected artist collective that had its first studio in West End. We aim for this mural to be a powerful artwork to mark a place so unique and loved by its community,” Bec Mac said. Both Vernon Ah Kee and Josh Milani were early adopters of the of the concept when approached about a mural on Avid Reader Bookstore, Vernon stating that the project was a great combination of passion and desperation and if we willing to take the risk on something like this, so was he.
The Avid Reader mural by Vernon Ah Kee has now been crystallized as a super scaled temporary outdoor gallery. A biennial exhibition will be planned with each mural reclaiming Boundary Street by a first nations artist’s work. Property owner, Dr Manuel Petavrakis agrees that “beauty can heal”.
Vernon’s is the first and is paying homage to indigenous writers primarily and non-indigenous who have relationships with the Avid Reader Bookstore owners Fiona Stager and Kev Guy of whom there are many. The image concept is preliminary and is in detailed design collaboration with Vernon, Josh Milani, Urban Art Projects and us.
You can become a patron or donor to the Chrysalis project here.
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