Ceramic artist Ali Sobel-Read has brought a green oasis to Cleary Street, Hamilton.
Sobel-Read used a process of silk-screen printing photographs onto clay tile to create a 2-metre x 1-metre tile mural featuring trees, flowers and landmarks from Gregson Park in Hamilton.
The installation also features a collaboration with Herb Urban, the local vertical garden company. Three planters have been installed along the upper edge of the mural, creating a "green" frame, and enveloping the mural in shadows of vines and flowers.
This project was primarily funded by the City of Newcastle's special business rates program, and also by the Hamilton Business Association and The Kent Hotel, which has provided the public wall space for the mural.
Sobel-Read consulted with a range of community groups and consultancies including the Miromaa Aboriginal Language and Technology Centre, historian Ruth Cotton, local consultancy Creative Ingredient, and Julie Marler of landscape architects Phillips/Marler.
Sobel-Read sought to create an artwork that would appeal to individuals of all ages and backgrounds. She hopes the installation will foster and contribute to the Hamilton community's sense of pride and identity.
"I wanted to create a landmark art installation that would be true to the needs and desires of the entire community," Sobel-Read says.
Her vision is that, like the park, the installation space will feel inclusive and draw people to that location to visit the artwork.
