Guest Street Artist for Surface Festival, ACT

Written By BOHIE

Facilitated for the Surface Festival in partnership with “ACT NoWASTE”, this artwork by BOHIE aims to inspire growth in the viewer (both general public and local business owner) to research, recycle, reuse, and choose to support sustainable choices each and every day within our local Canberra community and beyond.

According to Sustainability Victoria, “Australians throw out 2.7 million single-use or disposable coffee cups every single day. This adds up to 1 billion coffee cups thrown out every year. It’s no surprise then that disposable coffee cups are a major contributor to litter on our streets and in our waterways.” Yet by donating used coffee grounds, cafes located in this very building are contributing to a sustainable future by using food waste like coffee grounds to grow new edible plants, including mushrooms. I’ve specifically featured mushrooms for the incredible research being conducted into the use of mushrooms and other fungi to clean up oil spills and for its potential to degrade some plastics.

This incredible, natural resource has the potential to create drastic change on a global scale, and is being actively researched by Canberra based CSIRO scientist, Dr Oliver Mead, who says “Fungi have such an important role in our ecosystem. They have a crucial role as decomposers and recyclers. And they make it possible for members of the other kingdoms to be supplied with nutrients and to live. Ultimately, the food chain would not exist without these organisms.”

This artwork was commissioned by Surface Festival. Assisted by Fran Ifould.

BOHIE

Based in Braidwood, NSW, BOHIE creates art, illustration, public space murals, and creative workshopping experiences that explore wonder and connection to each other and to the natural world.

She works alongside educational institutions, government agencies, community focus groups and stewards of the natural world to design change-making campaigns for each creative project. Bohie utilises a research-based methodology to find inspiration for her artworks, resulting in 2D images which are laden with deeper stories and symbolic meaning.

This narrative driven conceptual development injects her unique authenticity and grass-roots integrity into the public arena, which she sees as a conscious challenge to public advertising. In a time of rapid change, extreme instability and a globally recognised feeling of imminent threat, Bohie’s art provides messages of hope and empowerment for a changed future.

https://www.bohie.com.au
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