An interactive mosaic tile chair containing sound files that ‘speak’ of the Kabi Kabi peoples’ history and culture, and the local ecology, is a colourful new tourist landmark.
Called the Buddina Ocean Chair, it spans about 18sqm at Pike Park adjacent to beach access 229. It involved 400 collaborators and comprises 20,000 handmade tiles.
The immense functional art project was led by local artist and project coordinator Gretchen Keelty with a core team including Mack Muckan from Undumbi Culture, Monte Lupo Arts, Buddina State School, Nick Grivas from Liquid Lyrics, Roxanne McCarty O’Kane from Ignite and Write, Turtle Care Sunshine Coast and Dave Matthews from Podspot.
The impressive chair features 16 poems written by Year 6 students, which are stamped into the clay tiles, and can be listened to via the Sunshine Coast Council’s website.
The poetry explores four themes: First Nations culture and history, Turtle Care 20 years, marine and dune conservation, and beach safety.
Visitors can also listen to a 20-year anniversary message by Turtle Care Sunshine Coast and a very special First Nations guided meditation by Kabi Kabi leader and loreman Mack Muckan.
The meditation takes participants on a journey back in time to become part of the Kabi Kabi tribe, the original custodians of the land. There are also language tiles within the mosaic design featuring 16 different Kabi Kabi words visitors can learn.
Ms Kelty said these layers showed the richness of our culture.
“We have made the intangible, tangible,” Ms Keelty said.
“Creating an opportunity for locals and tourists to gain deeper understanding of our First Nations cultural history and our fragile local ecology.”
The mosaic tiles were designed to last using high-quality stoneware clay and glazes, and handmade by supported artists and professional sculptors from Monte Lupo Arts and 330 students from Buddina State School.
Ceramic studio Monte Lupo Arts employs 16 artists with disabilities together with job coaches and professional artists. It ran specially designed tile-making workshops for the Year 4, 5 and 6 Buddina State School students using specially crafted press moulds.
The studio artists also made additional tiles including thousands of individually cut hand glazed diamond tiles to complete the mural.
The tiles feature animals and plants endemic to the region, which play important roles in the local ecosystem.
The design not only serves an aesthetic purpose but it is also intended to educate and inspire connection with the local environment.
“My background in biology means that I’m a bit pedantic about getting these species properly represented,” Ms Keelty said.
It’s anticipated the mosaic will become a landmark for the region, especially when it is seen by the thousands of international visitors who will arrive for the 2032 Olympic Games.
Ms Keelty said the new coastal path was already a popular training route and as athletes come to acclimatise, many of them will pass by and stop at Buddina Ocean Chair and learn more about our people, the local environment, maybe do a meditation and listen to some poems.
“Something this exquisite and so special came together because all the contributors brought such different energy to the project, yet were so unified in creating something more beautiful than I could ever have imagined,” Ms Keelty said.
“This is more than a mosaic, it’s a legacy.”
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The mural was made possible by the support of Sunshine Coast Council and Councillor Joe Natoli.
As well as being visually stunning, it offers a practical benefit: the mosaic surface is a proven anti-graffiti solution, ensuring its beauty is preserved for years to come. The expected lifespan of the mural is between 50 and 100 years, potentially more.
Students will be able to bring their children and grandchildren, and maybe great grandchildren to come and see what they made when they were a student at Buddina State School.
“This is something incredibly special for the community to be proud of,” Ms Keelty said.
“I have seen mosaics around the world, including Barcelona and I believe ours is the most magical, made up of exquisite, handmade pieces, telling our unique story.”
You can listen to the poems featured on the Buddina Ocean Chair here.
