Australian street artist Fintan Magee recently returned to his home country, where he finished a stunning new mural titled ‘Meeting Point.’ The artist painted his endeavor in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia, 752 kilometers from Lismore, the town where he was born in the same state.
In an Instagram comment regarding the mural, Magee explained, that ‘Meeting Point’ depicts “a portrait of three generations of a Wiradjuri family, painted on the exterior of Dubbo base hospital. The space acts as a meeting point for a number of different family and language groups of the Western Plains region. This work explores the role of storytelling and dance in the sharing of cultural knowledge between generations, and the importance of family structures in cultural preservation and identity.”
Stylistically, ‘Meeting Point’ is a cohesive fit within Magee’s existing body of work. Its figures are a blend of the artist’s technical, photorealistic style and his more experimental, deconstructed approach. Their top halves, indiscernible from reality, fade into painterly streaks. The subject matter at play in this mural also suits Magee’s oeuvre, which focuses on the mundane, in-between moments of everyday people going about their everyday lives.
Wikipedia explains that “The Wiradjuri people are a group of Aboriginal Australian people who were united by a common language, strong ties of kinship and survived as skilled hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans scattered throughout central New South Wales.”
Like many native people who have struggled to coexist alongside the Europeans who settled their original land, aboriginal culture in Australia has required active advocacy to maintain its survival. In his comment regarding ‘Meeting Point,’ Magee offered special thanks to Diane McNaboe and Lewis Burns “for their assistance and knowledge throughout the mural production process.”
In February 2015, The Sydney Morning Herald noted how it was once off-limits for an Australian living in New South Wales to speak the aboriginal langue, Wiradjuri. Diane McNaboe played a pivotal role in helping to shatter this unfortunate stereotype when she began teaching a weekly class on the language to elementary students at Dubbo West Public school.
“This is the first generation (of children) who have actually been given permission to speak their language,” McNaboe is quoted as saying in the article.
The article also explained that while “108 Indigenous languages in Australia are at risk of extinction,” Wiradjuri is actually “flourishing” with the help of educators like McNaboe. In 2014, “49 students graduated from a new course at TAFE Western with a certificate 11 in teaching Aboriginal language.” According to Victor Dominello, the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs who is also quoted by the Herald, this educational push seeks “to provide incentives for Aboriginal students to learn traditional languages from cradle to grave, and preserve them for the future.”
Lewis Burns, another force who helped to realize ‘Meeting Point,’ also prides himself on preserving Australia’s rich aboriginal culture. An aboriginal artist and didjeridoo maker/player, Burns’s website states “I teach Aboriginal Art and Culture, Cultural Awareness and Cultural Competencies to all ages from Kinder to University.” He seeks to create a “sense of inclusion, connectedness, unity and respect for all people, Indigenous and Non-Indigenous,” within the country.
Alongside the support of these two inspiring figures, Magee has created a gorgeous monument to the cultural legacy of the land that raised him. Thanks to purposeful intervention, the Wiradjuri language and culture has been afforded a strong lifespan. ‘Meeting Point’ honors this triumph with the standalone talent that any painting completed by Magee offers. The mural shines as a light for what can be accomplished when we give human history the respect it deserves.
