Words by Michael Dart
As we break out and explore our surrounds again there’s been more and more art popping up across the Region. New gallery exhibitions, cafes and restaurants promoting local artists, history tours, sculptures and our Milbi mosaics on the coast – it’s a visual banquet.
I love the freedom and diversity of street art. Expression, creativity, asking and raising questions, protesting, analysing and beautifying. Public art is a way for artists to contribute to the environment we live in.
I caught up with 23-year-old Taylor Klaasen (pictured), famous for her striking mural on the previous Oodies Café site at the North end of the Tallon Bridge, to talk about her artistic journey including her latest installation at Oodies 2.0.
Taylor said art is therapy for the mind and the body. “Making people happy by transforming a public space into art makes my heart full,” she said. Inspired by Brisbane mural artist ‘Kasper’, Australian painter Gustav Klimt and Australian street artist Fintan Magee, Taylor has been painting her whole life and has developed a colourful and eclectic style, transforming everyday items into works of art, as well as painting amazing murals.
If you are grabbing coffee or simply exploring the Bundaberg CBD, there’s almost a dozen murals to discover beside Indulge, in Post Office lane, next to Bundaberg Health Foods on Wongarra Street, outside Nana’s Pantry and several on Targo Street, across from the Central and Grand hotels.
Of course, the most famous mural in Bundaberg is the ‘Whaling Wall’ painted in 1990 by international marine artist, Robert Wyland. It was his first in the Southern Hemisphere and number 23 of 100 global whale murals he painted. For the record it took about 1000 litres of paint to do the job.
For an artistic display of history about our farming families and local food contributors check out the Mark ART Creative Enterprises’s #Taste mural next to The Brewhouse, while taking in an ale or two. Or make a few hours of it and join a local history tour. Creative Regions run Bundy StoryTalks, celebrating the rich and movie-worthy legends and moments that put our Region on the map.
Michael Dart is an actor, Director of Creative Regions and member of the Playhouse Theatre.