An initiative of Brisbane City Council

Artforce Brisbane
An initiative of Brisbane City Council

Matisse Raphael & Aya Stronach

Purple rain on the animal train

O'Keefe St & Pa Hospital Exit, Woolloongabba QLD
Our idea has taken inspiration from many different things. This includes the PA hospital, the near-by childcare, the bus station / railway system as well as the native animals of Australia. After talking to people in the local area we found out information about the native animals like possums, blue tongue lizards, magpies, bush turkeys, skinks, geckos and brush tail possums. Basically our idea was to incorporate all our inspiration into one big idea. Our plan was to paint a cartoon train on a raised railway and in each carriage feature a native Australian animal, then there are jacaranda trees with falling petals and below are big leaves hiding animals. The jacaranda represents the hospital (because mum and dad associate flowering jacarandas with university exams and the PA Hospital is a teaching hospital), the concept is childish for the kids at the nearby childcare, the train represents the transportation in the area, the animals in the train represent the animals in the near-by area (the koala, wallaby and goanna are there as they are our favourites and we have seen them mountain biking in Brisbane) and finally the big leaves are the same as those in the garden near the box.
Box ID: B0864 (View Map Below)
Additional Participants: Alastair Raphael and Paul Stronach
Painted on: November 2021

All Aboard the Animal Express!

With a name like Matisse Raphael, it’s no surprise the ten-year-old local loves to paint and draw!  Together with her friend and collaborator Aya Stronach, they created ‘Purple rain on the animal train’.

Landmarks in the area around the PA hospital, such as the bus station and railway system, native animals, the hospital itself, and a nearby childcare centre, all make their way into the artwork. Painted in a childlike way to appeal to the kids attending the nearby childcare centre, the artwork features a cartoon train on a raised railway, each carriage carrying a native Australian animal, and the ‘purple rain’ of Jacaranda flowers signalling exam time for the university students who learn at the nearby teaching hospital. Matisse has also included some of her favourite animals that she’s spotted while out mountain biking to create this delightful and imaginative artwork.

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to paint a traffic signal box

TO BE ELIGIBLE

You must be a resident of Brisbane ie. living within the Brisbane City Council area.
You must not be an employee of Brisbane City Council.
You must not have painted more than two traffic signal boxes in a four year period and not in consecutive years.

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