ARTWORK LOCATION: Rear of Building, 33-34 Cherry Street, Ballina

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

Kate Stroud is a vision hunter, a visual communicator, artist, signwriter and large-scale muralist, whose joyful, provocative, and sometimes rebellious works are synonymous with the outspoken and creative spirit of the Northern Rivers region.
Her vibrant murals and signs adorn laneways, footpaths, walls, arcades, shopfronts, and the interiors of local businesses from Lismore to Perth, and chances are she has designed the logo or interior of that local businesses you love.
A fierce advocate for community-led development and a vibrant creative economy, Kate’s work is a constant celebration of identity and survival.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

This large-scale mural originates from hand drawn illustrations then scaled up to 4metres, applied with paint pushed by paintbrush.
The Ballina Street Art Project was an opportunity for Kate to delve into the culture of Ballina and develop a way to honour and celebrate place and space. Collecting culturally significant icons such as the surfing prawn, the local species of banksia, the seasonal migration of humpback whales, the iconic waterslide, to the indigenous practice of collecting pipis these pieces of Ballina where preserved into the lost holiday practice of sending postcards with a lick of colourful postage stamps.
Designed with a warm colour palette to brighten a once grey wall these series of postage stamps and postcards will be developed into stationary that can be sent to family and friends as a little moment of this beautiful Northern Rivers Seaside town.