Aida Azin and Kaspar Schmidt Mumm’s Untitled (2019) mural at Flinders University’s Sturt precinct is a vibrant, collaborative work deeply rooted in student voices that reflects the artists’ socially engaged practices. Together with Flinders’ student Brianna Fantis, the artists conducted interviews and devised surveys to inform the development of the work and capture the spirit of life on campus. Schmidt Mumm expressed: “This mural is a reaction to its environment. We communicated with students and asked them their opinions … they are inhabiting the space, they own it… we just want to help them own it,”[1] emphasising the value of student perspectives and connection to place.
This process led to some unexpected discoveries for the artists, including the playful inclusion of the University’s ubiquitous wood duck alongside other native fauna including the magpie and threatened red-tailed black cockatoo. Azin and Schmidt Mumm’s bold depictions of these birds position them as stewards of the campus against a backdrop of native flora, waterways and people. The artists’ use of dramatic brushstrokes, strong shadows and vivid colouration in the mural breathes life into the Sturt precinct and depicts narratives that cultivate a sense of belonging informed by their explorations of identity, displacement and collective experience.
[1] Kaspar Schmidt Mumm, interview for Flinders University Sturt Murals, Frankie Films, August 21, 2020, audio, 00:58.
