18 minute read
THE ICONIC MURAL
I recently came across several newspaper articles from 1995 in our archive collection, from The West Australian, Sunday Times, Southern Gazette to Fremantle Review, featuring the large mural that is displayed in Rixon Theatre.
It is hard to miss, measuring at 7 metres x 3.5 metres. Most families who have attended Penrhos – particularly those who have been involved in the performing arts, will have a photo or two in their collection with this large mural as the backdrop.
For such a large and significant artwork, in a prominent position, the background, inspiration and process for commissioning the piece hasn’t been clear – and is something I wanted to learn more about.
So, I dug a little deeper.
In 1995 Penrhos College officially opened the $4 million, 750 seat Performing Arts Centre. Later renamed the Rixon Theatre, named in honor of Mr Graham Rixon, Principal at Penrhos College from 1986 to 2007, the venue has been the home of countless productions, dance performances, musical showcases, assemblies and meetings since that time.
As part of the opening, the Penrhos College Alumni Committee commissioned Cherie Knott, a Fremantle artist to paint a mural as a gift to the College. Taking over two months to complete, the oil on canvas, depicts different aspects of performing arts from dance to music to composers. An accomplished performing artist in her own right, Cherie was a choreographer, composer, published poet and a sculptor. To prepare for the project, Cherie spent time observing classes of performing arts students at Penrhos College and viewed hours of recorded footage of performances to gain inspiration for the mural. Titled - De Lait de Cygne (Milk of the Swan) Cherie was given one brief, to produce a painting which depicts all the arts in some way. In an article published in the Sunday Times on 19 March 1995, Cherie said:
“I took the idea of using the water because it is constantly changing and on the move. No work of art is ever really finished. I could have kept working forever. The title refers to the search of the ordinary in which we find the extraordinary.”
Loretta Dease (Class of 1961) and Natalie Freeman (Class of 1984), Penrhos Alumni and members of the Alumni Committee at the time of the Theatre opening, recently spent time speaking with me about the mural.
The next time you are in Rixon Theatre, take a closer look at this significant piece of artwork. We’d love to hear what you notice, and what you find to be the most interesting section of the mural.
