Hello Shalom
MULTICULTURAL MURAL
The Hello Shalom mural started as a greeting designed to recognise and honour our global multicultural society. I prepared the mural layout by nestling words together, echoing how different cultures live side by side.
By 6pm on Saturday 13 December 2025, I’d painted half the design so returned on Sunday 14 December to continue. That afternoon, I heard with disbelief about the Bondi Beach shooting, and felt saddened for the tragic loss of lives and that such extremism had pervaded Australia. Yet this was not new — violence has affected, and continues to affect, communities around the world including First Nations people since colonisation, Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and Palestinian people in the Gaza region.
Should I post about the mural once it was finished? To me that felt like an insignificant distraction away from people affected. I watched for updates about the bravery of Bondi, the heroes who helped, and how Australia and the world responded. Amazing stories of courage and community were broadcast. People worldwide were showing their support for Sydney. The timing of the mural felt like it brought added poignancy, shifting it from a message of solidarity into a heartfelt response of respect affirming everyone’s right to celebrate their faith and culture.
OUTCOME
Lettering murals have a unique power to promote acceptance by making language visible, joyful, and shared. When words from different cultures appear side by side, they invite curiosity, turning walls into welcoming conversations. Through colour and typography, lettering becomes a connection across cultures and humanity.
My hope for this mural was to recognise many languages. I experimented with different techniques such as drop shadows, outlines and gradients. For Witam, I used my Newy colour font; Sveiki, Ciao and Shalom are my own handwriting, Jingeri uses DCDynamic font, and Hei uses Cheesecake font.
Hello Shalom highlights the power of colour and meaningful messaging to transform a public space during an unexpected moment in time. The mural celebrates how lettering, colour, and language can transform a wall with a message of unity and care. My primary hope is that my mural generates inclusivity and peace. Sending peace and joy to you.
