Orange City Council’s FutureCity Public Art Project has reached another milestone, with Sydney-based artist Floria Tosca starting work on a mural in Anson Street yesterday, Monday 8 November.
Ms Tosca is the fifth artist to create a public artwork in the central business district as part of the project, with Canberra artist Yanni Pounartzis set to finish off his mural in McNamara Lane this week as well.
She is painting her mural on the wall of 213 Anson Street, near the Uniting Church park. The work is expected to take two weeks to complete, weather permitting.
Orange Mayor Reg Kidd said it was exciting to see new artworks popping up all over the central business district.
BALANCE: Floria Tosca is painting a mural in Anson Street.
“It’s wonderful to see people talking about the art and sharing their opinions,” Cr Kidd said.
“That’s the great thing about public art, it creates conversation and points of interest for visitors and residents to explore, encouraging them to spend time in our city centre and support the local economy.”
Ms Tosca is an award-wining artist whose practice encompasses painting, drawing and animation. She has exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions, and her work is held in private and public collections nationally and internationally.
Her Biome mural celebrates the biodiversity of the Orange region:
A Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus) stands on a throne of Cage Fungus (Clathrus cibarius) and Mycena, with its fruiting fungal bodies emerging like upheld golden arms. Common Blue Banded bees (Amegilla cingulata) and Neon Cuckoo bees (Thyreus nitidulus) adorn this throne, like jewels, with their iridescent stripes and spots while Diuris orchids, (sulphurea and semilunata) sprout from the golden mushroom arms.
Orange Regional Gallery director Bradley Hammond said Ms Tosca’s sensitivity to human impact on the environment is an integral aspect of her work, with this piece developed specifically in response to the precarious balance of species in our region.
“Biome encourages us to bear witness to the increasing number of endangered species and reminds us of the complex and delicate relationship we have with our environment. Mr Hammond said.
Biome was created after consultation with Dr Jordan Bailey and the team at the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), and Jenny Medd and Helmut Berndt from the Orange Field Naturalist and Conservation Society.
Ms Tosca joins artists Yanni Pounartzis of Canberra, Catherine O’Donnell of the Blue Mountains, and Sandon Gibbs-O’Neill and Tully Moore of Orange in contributing to the FutureCity Public Art Project so far.
The three-year project aims to develop a diverse collection of murals and art installations on buildings in the inner city, designed to encourage foot traffic in the city centre as part of Councils’ FutureCity plan to revitalise the CBD.
