Patients and visitors to Wonthaggi Hospital can now enjoy a bright, colourful and captivating mural in the courtyard of Kodowlinun acute ward.
The mural, entitled Manna Gum Retreat, was painted by Inverloch artists Amanda Watts and Raewyn Petracca, and funded by the Rotary Club of Inverloch, to the tune of $15,000.
The mural was officially opened in the courtyard on level three of the new hospital on Tuesday 19 November, followed by a morning tea.
Interim BCH CEO, Professor Simone Alexander, said the mural has enhanced the experience of patients and visitors to the ward.
“As an organisation and community, we are privileged to have such talented artists as Amanda and Raewyn create this mural so that patients and visitors can enjoy the peaceful environment that has been created in the courtyard and appreciate this amazing artwork,” she said.
“It will help patients on their journey to getting better by bringing colour and joy at a time when they’re unwell.
“BCH is grateful to the members of the Rotary Club of Inverloch who tirelessly raised funds for the project.”
Rotary Club of Inverloch President Patrick Barry said the club was proud to fund the mural for the benefit of patients and visitors.
“Rotary appreciates the value of the first-class Wonthaggi Hospital Expansion to the community and wished to contribute to this wonderful asset,” he said.
“We wanted to enhance the experience of patients and visitors by offering them a setting where they could momentarily disconnect themselves from thinking about health complications – whether their own or their loved one’s – and be immersed in the beauty of art and nature.”
Rosa Turner, Past President of the Rotary Club of Inverloch, added, “Rotary is so pleased with the vivid colours and narrative of the final result, and we’re sure everyone who spends time in this courtyard will be too. It’s a great privilege to be involved and we’re thankful for the artists for creating this beautiful space.”
Amanda, who designed the mural and also runs creative agency Design Junkies, said the mural meets Rotary’s brief of an uplifting and energising design that enabled viewers to relax.
The mural features a branch from the iconic Manna Gum tree of the Bass Coast, as well as shapes reflective of the local beaches and waterways, dinosaur footprints and salmon, a nod to the annual arrival of the fish locally.
“For people who are unwell or visiting their loved ones in hospital, the imagery of nature and the seasons is a reminder that things are cyclical, and hardships come and go in our lives. Being able to create something that reinvigorates a space with colour and storytelling is what I love to do,” Amanda said.
A Black Cockatoo flies high in the mural, a symbol representing change and enlightenment from Indigenous Australian culture.
The cockatoo flies towards a yellow sun, to signify liberation, and an acknowledgment of the cyclic nature of life as the sun rises every day, offering patients and their loved ones a sense of normality at what can be an unsettling time.
The words “Deep in the trees… they find stillness” in the mural take onlookers to a moment in time of walking through nature where they can appreciate stillness and quietness.
The logo of Inverloch Rotary Club sits modestly within the mural, recognising the artwork’s origin.