Dvate

Description

Mural: Plover Lover

Artist: Jimmy Dvate

Artist Bio:
Jimmy Dvate is a renowned Australian contemporary artist, specialising in large scale murals. Painting on the streets of Melbourne since 1997, his name is synonymous with the graffiti, street art scenes and can be found all over the world.

Some of his key works can be found in Adelaide, Melbourne Zoo, Phillip Island Nature Park, Darwin, Alice Springs, Wollongong, Benalla and Shepparton. Dvate more recently added his art to silos at Rochester, Goorambat and Waikerie, undaunted by the scale of the works.

His reputation has led to overseas projects in Denmark, London, Belgium, Spain and the soon to be opened Amsterdam Street Art Museum. In America, he has exhibited and painted in LA, SF, St Louis, Miami, NYC and Denver while his travels extended as far afield as Tahiti as runner-up in a global street art competition.

Trained in graphic design and visual arts at Monash University, Jimmy’s work has included a wine label for Longview Vineyard, an innovative pack for KitKat and a huge promotional hand painted canvas for Disney’s The Lion King in the Regent Theatre in Melbourne city. His art shows a strong sense of design combined with the accuracy and eye for detail of photo-realism.

Underlying his most recent works is Jimmy’s passion for nature and the environment. Inspired by camping trips in the bush as a boy, Jimmy’s focus has increasingly turned to the natural world, especially to endangered species and victims of climate change. Working with numerous conservation groups has been a huge honour and has given him access to special places. He painstakingly researches the location commissioned by his client, ensuring that the flora and fauna are authentic and indigenous to the area.

From rock wallabies to black cockatoos, Blue-Tongued Lizards to Tasmanian Devils, Jimmy’s work brilliantly conveys not only his careful research, but also his genuine passion for these creatures and his commitment to conservation. He truly captures the personalities of the subjects he paints with his accuracy and amazing use of colour. His skill in using spray paint to show every feather, every scale and every whisker, leaves the viewer wondering just how he did it!

Description of Artwork:

Dvate explains his inspiration for the artwork. “I always base my murals on flora and fauna of the local area, hopefully raising awareness of an endangered species. I spent a lot of time researching Frankston and surrounds and ended up choosing the Hooded Plover as the focus of my artwork. This endangered species is found all along the coast. Nesting on the beach they are often threatened by human interaction, dogs etc so I felt they were a really important species to highlight. Only 2.5% of chicks make it to fledgling stage, one of the lowest success rates for breeding in the world,” he said.

This artwork reflects the lifecycle of the hooded plover - from egg to chick to fledgling to adult - all surrounded by abstract hazard tape as a symbol of their vulnerability. The artist worked with the local community group, Friends of the Hooded Plover Mornington Peninsula to create the concept and enjoyed access to many reference photos taken by Mark Lethlean.

The response to the artwork has been amazing and has led to another mural featuring the Hooded Plover at Sorrento back beach, right near one of their breeding sites.

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