Wednesday January 18, 2023
A bright and colourful mural of a rainbow lorikeet surrounded by native flowers now adorns a once dull brick wall at Maroondah Hospital.
The mural, painted by local artist Brad Colling, took a week to complete and was commissioned using money allocated through the Wellness funding.
Maroondah Hospital Site Director Anne Mennen put the courtyard revamp project forward as a way to thank the staff for all of their hard work.
“Staff have worked incredibly hard during COVID, it is very hard to replace vacant positions, but meanwhile patient demand for emergency, emergent and elective care is ongoing and relentless. It has been wonderful to receive funds from the Department of Health specifically for staff wellness initiatives such as this.
“Before this space was very bland and dreary; beige, grey and not much more. Not really a refreshing space visually or in terms of ambience for staff to move to when having a break from the demand of work outside,” she said.
Ms Mennen reviewed a list of seven artists before landing on Mr Colling who she tasked with painting the brick wall near the staff break-out area.
“Brad’s art is particularly focused on Australiana with use of bright colour; very appealing for our particular area,” she said.
Mr Colling said he was grateful for his involvement in the mural and its goal to pay tribute to the resilient staff of Eastern Health.
“The whole thing was it was a bit of a tribute and a bit of a reward for the staff having gone through a few years of crap times working in hospitals,” he said.
In addition to the mural, the courtyard was also refreshed with an extending concreted area to allow for more seating, new colourful benches and a new garden.
While the mural is not accessible to the public, the available photos provide a visual display of the new vibrant artwork.