VISUAL art students at Assisi Catholic College, Upper Coomera, learned some valuable lessons while painting a four-sided mural that transformed a sub-station into an eye-catching artwork.
The Year 12 students worked collaboratively alongside North Queensland artist Garth Jankovic to create the mural during National Arts Week.
Visual arts teacher Jo Gordon asked Jankovic to work with the students on a rotational basis in groups of four to five for a full day and give them some industry-based experience.
Ms Gordon said the design brief was “where Assisi meets Gold Coast”.
She said the four-sided mural featured some great symbolic references to the college’s patron saint, St Francis, with the words “Brother Moon, Sister Sun”.
The mural also included fish, birds, flowers and arts-related symbols.
“An Aboriginal face paid homage to the original custodians of the land and this morphed into a wave and another face, symbolising Assisi students and our beautiful location here on the Gold Coast,” Ms Gordon said.
“The feedback from all involved was very positive.”
School leader Jordan Grant said it was an interesting exercise, with all students involved in the design process the whole time.
“I liked the conversations and the vibe when painting with Garth,” he said.
Student Jai Anastasio said he would definitely recommend it as a project for future years.
“To work alongside an industry-based person, as you are undertaking a stand-alone subject that is non-OP, gives a real perspective that relates back to what is happening in the real world, within the industry of art,” he said.
Mr Jankovic, who has been painting murals and street art with young people for more than 15 years, said it was not often he came across a group who were so keen to learn, paint and to push their own boundaries while sharing their own stories with him.
“It is an experience I will look fondly back on for many years to come,” he said.
“The great thing about this kind of art is that long after the moment is gone the artwork remains.
“A piece of all of us involved remains at Assisi and adorned upon that wall.”
