A COLOURFUL new mural has transformed the toilet block at the Tooborac Recreation Reserve.<\/p>\n
The public artwork features a kangaroo, an eastern rosella and a regent Honeyeater set against a backdrop of native plants and the large boulders common to the area.<\/p>\n
Completed in November, it was officially launched last Friday.<\/p>\n
Artist, Eric Sesto, grew up in Tooborac and returned during the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n
He said he was initially inspired to paint the mural around three years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had it in mind for quite some time,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted to paint something very iconic for Tooborac.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a kid in Tooborac, I was disconnected from the world of art.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only paintings I had seen were at my grandma’s house and in the studio of one artist who lived in the town.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt strongly that Tooborac deserved some art and that the youth who grew up there should be exposed to paintings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have painted artworks in six countries now and it seemed strange that I had not painted anything in my hometown.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter where I go in the world, Tooborac’s undulating landscape, that is idyllic as it is rough, is something I fall in love with again and again and I really wanted to capture that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tooborac Recreation Reserve and Mechanics Hall committee of management chair Belinda Hagan said Sesto approached them in early 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we involved the Shire and had a consultation where Eric put some ideas together,\u201d she said. \u201cWe put those out to the community to voice their opinion and also to understand what other designs they wanted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all just really all came together and next minute Eric was there painting, we did wait till the weather got better though.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mural is on the side of the toilet block at the rear of the hall and faces the Tooborac Primary School oval.<\/p>\n
Sesto found he often had an audience watching him at work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so surprised by the response from the school and mind blown by the kids interest every lunchtime,\u201d he said. \u201cThey all wrote me thank you letters when I had finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sesto had a special message for the Tooborac students at the launch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was here for 12 days and each day was 10 hours,\u201d he said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t happen by magic, it just took patience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitchell Shire councillor and Tooborac district resident Bill Chisholm said the new mural was a great example of neighbourhood spirit in action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what it means to be in a community that sticks together and works together,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a great icon for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Hagan and Sesto both spoke about the possibility of another mural in the future.<\/p>\n
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