Last night we were out with friends in Nelson Bay at a restaurant called The Hawker Inn.
The restaurant is down this alleyway and before this mural was created by local tattoo artist James Pearson it wasn't the best-looking entrance, but the food is fantastic.
This mural came about after the artist met John (at the time the new owner of the restaurant.) Inspired to paint by hearing of John’s musical and artistic taste James completed the mural.
There is a narrative to the work, the painting is set at the time of the cultural revolution in Hong Kong, in the 1920s (the roaring twenties) where and when western music and culture were merging with Eastern tradition, when the British were having an increased influence on Hong Kong’s cultural economic and political worlds and also when the Communist movement was weakening in both Hong Kong and China. It is the artists interpretation of the narrative of the cultural revolution as told by John.
Fascinating. Made me start singing the old Manhattan Transfer song "On a little street in Singapore" as that oriental twist on the mural sent my mind that way.
Ian
@olivetreeann Yes, the restaurant does serve Asian/Chinese food. All delicious too.