This spectacular piece was created for the Warrnambool Art Gallery as part of the Wallawar festival held in November 2021. Wallawar means Glow in our local Peek Woorroong (Gunditjmara) language.
The story behind the Wallawar design was based on the thoughts of local Elders, reflecting on what our ancestors would have seen glow before colonisation.
The 3-metre x 3 metre inflatable illuminated ball represents the full moon. The use of the stars for navigation is represented in the top half of the design amongst the lightning, the volcanic lava flow from Macarthur to Killarney is represented through the middle, and the glow from all the campfires amongst the wetlands is represented in the bottom half of the design.
