Working in collaboration with Woods Bagot’s talented hospitality team, Curatorial+Co. engaged multi-disciplinary artist, George Buchanan, to create interior and exterior murals that would engage, intrigue, and stimulate. The strong narrative of love and community is told with a sense of cheekiness and playfulness for which the artist is known.
Buchanan’s mural is made of continuous line drawings which she thoughtfully crosses and loops through each other, depicting a sense of interconnectedness. “It’s a scene about reciprocal, consensual love and respect, about the birds and the bees except it’s moths and wasps, explains Buchanan. “The figures are drawn in erotic poses but also loving poses, where they’re comfortable in their skin and with their companion.”
Some figs and wasps have a symbiotic relationship – fig wasps in Australia are crucial for pollination of native fig trees. The female wasp enters the fig through a small opening, carrying pollen from another fig. She lays her eggs in the fruit and when the wasps are ready to emerge the males leave first, digging tunnels so the females can follow. After the males have dug their tunnel of love, they die.
“Moths flutter throughout the scenes, and I love moths too,” says Buchanan. “I thrive at night, as do hospitality venues. The emperor gum moth likes to snack on the cherry guava so both these have been included in my design. I’ve also included grapes (wine), hops (beer) and the blossoms of figs and cherry guava.”
The bar is a place where people unwind, and find connections, Monica is no exception.
PROJECT: MONICA AT 25HOURS THE OLYMPIA, SYDNEY
ARTIST: GEORGE BUCHANAN
CLIENT: ENNISMORE
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE: WOODS BAGOT
PHOTOGRAPHY: SIMON HEWSON
