Left: A close up of a section of the mural at the Forbes Hospital. Right: Scott ‘Sauce’ Towney starting his mural at the Forbes Public School. (Photo: FPS facebook page)
The Tree of Life mural done by Wiradjuri artist Scott ‘Sauce’ Towney at the Forbes Hospital has elicited a lot of positive comments which is a great source of inspiration for the artist.
“All the positive feedback encourages me to do more, and keeps me motivated to continue with my art,” said Sauce.
He was commissioned by Arts OutWest to transform a drab corridor that leads to the mortuary entry with the suggestion of the tree of life theme. “I took it from there and combined it with my constellation drawing of the Emu in the Sky, and added the Lachlan River at the bottom.”
He also added contemporary Wiradjuri patterns on the emu and on the tree. “The patterns come from nature as seen in wood grains and were traditionally used for tree carvings. That is where I get my ideas and inspiration from. I keep my designs in the style of the Wiradjuri patterns as we are on Wiradjuri land.”
Sauce explained that the Wiradjuri people used to carve complex designs into trees to mark a burial site. “It was like a headstone.”
Sauce said he was very aware that his design would be leading people down the corridor on their way to the mortuary. “The limbs of the tree reach all the way down the corridor across door frames and doors.”
The Peak Hill artist completed another commission this week at the Forbes Public School where he painted two murals. He will be working in Narromine next, and then back to his home town.