Vanessa Barclay’s mural holds a powerful message

08 Dec 2022

Artist and environmental advocate Vanessa Barclay has used a range of Resene colours to make her worldly mural stand out amongst the otherwise concrete surroundings.

As one of the winners in the Keep New Zealand Beautiful and Resene Nature Murals Competition 2022, her colourful and eye-catching mural ‘The World is in Our Hands’ features a large tree framing the precious planet Earth cradled by a pair of hands.

Vanessa is using her mural to convey a message about one of the greatest issues of our time, climate change – an issue we all have the power to change.

Earth painted in Resene Aquarius and Resene Dauntless, tree in Resene Grasshopper, Resene Karma and Resene Witch Hazel and hands painted in Resene Travertine and Resene Wafer. Other parts of the mural painted with Resene Hot Toddy, Resene Covert, Resene Moccaccino and Resene Spinnaker.

"We have a lot of power as humans, and it is in our best interest, now more than ever, to use that power to nurture and protect this precious world," Vanessa says. "We are part and parcel of the earth. We can decide what to do, the world is literally in our hands." 

Vanessa used a range of Resene paints for different elements of the mural, including Resene Aquarius and Resene Dauntless for the Earth, Resene Grasshopper, Resene Karma and Resene Witch Hazel for the large tree of life and Resene Travertine and Resene Wafer for the hands.

Vanessa has a deep connection to the Waikato area, and has previously worked in Cambridge where the mural now graces the back of a building complex in Cambridge town.

Vanessa describes her style as abstract. She likes to pay attention to details and her stunning designs are often inspired by mandalas which have circles as their base.

The award-winning mural is located at 30 Albert Street, Cambridge.

Keep an eye out for more of Vanessa’s work, you can also find her on Book an Artist.

Published: 08 Dec 2022