An interpretation of the NRL All Stars match on the 13th of February 2009, this concept of a football takes in four individual stories that make up the ball.
One Community
The artwork focuses on one game. The Indigenous All stars game as the meeting place for many people to come together as one community to celebrate culture. With the main focus of the artwork drawn to the largest circle, this circle represents the Gold Coast and Skilled Park as the gathering point of this special event. The lines leading to and from this circle are a direct interpretation of the journey many people will travel to and from the game. The almost lightening style effect of the colour palette in those journeys is a representation of the raw energy and excitement that will build from having our greatest Indigenous talent take on the rest of the NRL.
Leaders
The single white circle in the middle of the artwork is a portrayal of the role Torres Strait Islanders have played in bringing some of our greatest players to the game of Rugby League. The circle also represents how these Indigenous players stand as leaders for their teams and their nations. Moving across the top of the artwork the 16 white figures embody the 16 teams of the NRL and how these teams and the players from these teams can all work together to provide inspiration and opportunity for our people in the years ahead.
Hunter and Gatherer
The kangaroo tracks bound across the football as the hunter sprints and weaves in pursuit - These are the traditional skills that our modern day warriors bring to the game of rugby league. The lines leading into the main focus of the artwork depict the ancestral knowledge and skills that these players carry with them on their journey from homelands all over Australia to the football fields of the NRL.
Modern Day Corroboree
"I will celebrate it like a corroboree" -Preston Campbell talking about how he will approach the All stars game. In this artwork the corroboree is portrayed as the ceremonial circle with the meeting place to be Skilled Park on the Gold Coast where people will travel from far and wide to celebrate. Emanating from the ceremony is all the good feelings and happiness that transcend from such celebrations of culture, those same feelings that will be derived from this modern day corroboree.