In December 2019 we announced the successful selection of artist Paul Herzich to create a public art piece for the township of Gumeracha. Work on the mural is underway and the community can see it beginning to take shape on the wall below the Gumeracha Hospital on Torrens Valley Road.
A joint project between Adelaide Hills Council, the Gumeracha Main Street Project, and the Building Better Regions Fund, the final piece will be a 170m long mural combining sand blasted and hand painted elements that reflect Aboriginal cultural stories around the Torrens and Onkaparinga rivers.
Designed in consultation with local elders, the visual Acknowledgement of Country will reflect both Kaurna and Peramangk peoples, using depictions of shields and local rivers, as well as Coolamons - wooden bowls - and the Pleiades star constellation featured in the traditional story of the Seven Sisters.
An award-winning Aboriginal artist and landscape architect, Paul has designed many recognisable public art pieces, including a striking Reconciliation Week wrap for an Adelaide tram, a Peramangk acknowledgement visible from the South Eastern Freeway, and a laser cut sculpture in Topham Mall. He was joined this week by Natarsha Morris, Isla Morris, and Tahnee Sutton, who assisted with hand painting elements along the retaining wall.
Work on the mural continues.
