Artist ‘defeated’ by murals’ destruction
THE original artist of the Gold Coast’s M1 motorway mural, showcasing 178 children, is disappointed the history of the artwork cannot be preserved.
The state government has continued development on its $1bn M1 upgrade between Varsity Lakes and Tugun, and the Department of Transport and Main Roads says the mural can’t be retained or relocated.
For artist June Hintz the news is “defeating” given the amount of work that went into creating the mural 22 years ago.
In the late 90s, hip-hop culture had hit the Coast, causing Ms Hintz some problems as street artists like herself were getting a bad rap.
“It was a time when graffiti artists were being chased by police,” she said. “I had been doing murals since 1980 and wanted to break down the street artists’ negative stereotype.
“There were these grey walls along the M1, they looked boring and I wanted to make them vibrant and exciting like the Gold Coast.
“I also wanted to make a community project so myself and a few others put together the idea to put children’s faces on the wall.”
The idea took a couple of years to come to fruition, but in 1998 the wheels were in motion and the Gold Coast Bulletin held a competition for people to have their child’s face on the wall.
City councillor Daphne McDonald pulled out 100 photos of kids from a barrel to feature on the wall, but uproar from upset siblings extended the number of children in the artwork.
Close to 700 people worked on the mural, from street artists to the unemployed, courtesy of the Howard government’s work-forthe-dole scheme.
“So much of the community got involved,” Ms Hintz said. “We had people dropping off paint they had left over and lots of people helped with the artwork.
“Future PM Tony Abbott even joined in. He turned up to see if people on the dole scheme were earning their money. He originally intended to paint for 10 to 15 minutes but enjoyed it so much he stuck around for hours.”
Still doing street art, Ms Hintz said she understood that time moved on, but she’d love the history of the mural to be preserved somehow.
“For the generation of people who were part of the mural or have driven past it every day it means something,” she said.
“Unfortunately, these faces aren’t famous celebrities or politicians so from the outside looking in it doesn’t seem important.
“I wonder if Tom Tate had a mural if this would happen in 20 years’ time too?”