General News
7 March, 2024
What could it be?
THE Mortlake Roadhouse is getting a new mural, but you’re going to have to spend the next two years slowly guessing what it will feature.
Mortlake Roadhouse (Rodie) owner Dion Symons has teamed up with Warrnambool artist Jimmi Buscombe to bring a new mural to life on the Bourke Street-side exterior wall of the Roadie.
The duo has been enjoying a back-and-forth conversation about what would be featured on the mural before ultimately deciding whatever their plans, it would be kept a secret.
Keeping tight lipped as to what will be featured, they will instead allow their plans to slowly unfold over the new two years.
Mr Symons said the concept was born from simply wanting to do something with an “ugly, blank wall”.
“I’ve seen Jimmi all over the place,” he said.
“He comes in a lot to get potato cakes, so it’s nice to support him because he talks about us all over the place.
“If you see something about a potato cake, you’ll see Jimmi commenting that ours are the best – to the point we get people coming in from Melbourne saying they’ve seen Jimmi the artist talking about our potato cakes.”
However, it was not just Mr Buscombe’s affinity for the Roadie’s potato cakes which drew Mr Symon’s respect.
In 2020 Mr Buscombe, went viral to the tune of tens of millions of views after ABC South West Victoria documented the origins of the accidental ‘Gutsy the Wombat’ mural.
In the years since, he has completed work on public art pieces across the region including in Mortlake, Terang and Lismore.
“He painted a silo in Lismore, and I really liked it,” Mr Symons said.
“I just like art, so it’s nice to be doing something completely different.
“This will show a bit of a humorous side, it’s going to be a picture story, and tell a story over a bit of time – but we’re not telling anyone what it is.”
Mr Buscombe said the concept behind the gradually unfolding narrative grew organically to accommodate the size of the mural.
“Originally, we were just looking at doing a mural, but Dion and I had a chat about doing it over a longer period of time because it’s a fun wall with high exposure,” he said.
“It’s similar in design to a bridge I painted in Warrnambool that started with a nest, then eggs, then a father emu and then after a couple of weeks the eggs hatched in a slow story.
“I thought originally this might go on for a few months but Dion said let’s do it over a couple of years.
“So I’m going to be in Mortlake one or twice a month adding to it. People can watch what happens, but we’re not letting go what the story is.”
The mural has begun with a hessian sack and a sledgehammer, but looks may be deceiving if this is even a clue as to what is to come.
“Some of it may get painted over to form the next stage,” Mr Buscombe said.
“It’s going to evolve, almost as a slow animation.
“I’m taking photos from an exact point every time in the hope we can put this slow animation together at the end showing the mural unfold stage by stage.”
What Mr Buscombe was willing to say about the design was he felt it would capture the unique character which has made the Roadie such a beloved establishment.
“It’s humorous, it’s whimsical, it reflects the Roadie for what it has become known for,” he said.
“Some of the mural might even flow in to the front of the building, but you never know.
“We’re just going to have a bit of fun and we don’t know where it will end up, but we’ve got a start and middle of where we want it to go.
“I worked on the concept with my wife, which I do with a lot of my conceptual work, and when I pitched the idea to Dion he said he loved it.”
Mr Buscombe encouraged the wider community to follow along as the mural unfolds, and hoped to see plenty of guesses as to what is to come – creating a sense of engagement with the audience which he feels makes public art such an enjoyable experience.
“It’s art for people who maybe don’t visit galleries,” he said.
“Even more so with this sort of stuff that develops over time because it will create conversation.
“People, if they’re interested, will keep touch with it – while being here over time I can have chats with locals.
“It’s great because you connect a lot more with the community.”
