Mathoura’s marvellous mural is done

By Emily Donohoe

Dec 10, 2024

Murray River Council’s first River Country Art Trail piece has been officially completed, with Spanish artist Dulk decorating the Mathoura water tower.

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The art stands loud and proud over Mathoura, from the site at 23 Moama St.

Antonio Segura, or Dulk, took inspiration from the environment around the region, drawing on the native flora and fauna in his design.

“The process of creating this artwork has been very inspiring for me because I really like when the projects talk and are based in nature and the species from the place where I’m painting,” he said.

“So when I started to sketch everything, I did a big research about all the local species that I could paint or species that were here before. And they are not now because for many reasons.

“I wanted to include as (many as possible) in the painting.”

The shape of the water tower was a challenge for Dulk, being the first cylindrical ‘canvas’ he had painted.

While nervous at the start, he enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity to do something different.

“I saw the size, I saw the surface, and I was very, very worried,” Dulk said.

“But in three days, when I saw the drawing on the silo, my body told me, ‘Okay, let’s do it, it’s going to be easy.’

“I really enjoyed it. It was easier than I thought.

“The only thing is that you can’t see the whole thing together, but I think it makes it much more special because it invites you to go and see every corner, every detail.

“It’s probably one of the most special murals I’ve done in the world.”

The art covers the full surface of the tower. Photo by Emily Donohoe

Dulk has painted murals around the world, and uses similar themes across his works.

A prominent feature in this work is the cockatoo, sitting proudly on the top of the tower facing Mathoura St.

“Painting here is very special because we have been surrounded by wildlife while we were painting,” Dulk said.

“I was painting the cockatoo and there were many cockatoos flying around us and that’s, I think, when I feel more connected with my art and the place, and it’s when my art makes sense.

“I had something similar in Canada ... but this has been much more special because while we were painting, we saw all the birds that are in the mural and that’s like, ‘Oh, this is magical’.

“They were passing through us, and we were painting in the leaves, and I felt like (I was) in a fairy tale.”

With the water tower now finished, Dulk has officially stamped his artistic passport in Australia.

His was the first of five works which will make up the River Country Art Trail.

The next four pieces will be in Moama by Twoone, Barham by Gus Eagleton, Moulamein by Heesco and Tooleybuc by Stuart Green.

“I’m very happy to be part of the River Country Art Trail because it’s the first time that I painted in Australia,” he said.

“It’s the first time I painted a water tower ... I know that here in Australia there are many of them, and I always wanted to do my first here because it’s my first time painting a mural in Australia.”

The River Country Art Trail has been proudly funded through the NSW Government’s Regional Tourism Activation Fund, and brought to the community by Murray River Council and creative partner FORM Building a State of Creativity.