Artwork Story:
Konara - People Gather
This artwork reflects Konara ‘People Gather’ a contemporary and welcoming centre for all to access holistic health solutions. It tells the story of the Doctors who are Hunter ENT, their journey thus far to today where the Konara Centre is a reality in our community. Dr Robert Eisenburg, Associate Professor Kelvin Kong, Dr Toby Corlette, Dr Daron Cope & Dr Johnson Huang and in memory of Dr Colin Reid.
At the very centre of the Konara artwork is a gathering circle made up of three people symbols representing Hunter ENT and welcoming all people.
This sits upon a large engraved gathering circle symbolic of the Awabakal Nation and acknowledging the Awabakal people as the traditional owners of the land upon which the Konara is located.
Further interconnected smaller gathering circles flow horizontally from this central image and hold a threefold meaning: representing all Aboriginal Clan Groups across NSW, Hunter ENT’s footprint on country and all stakeholders including community, staff and partners.
The five people gathering circles that are linked to the central image hold special significants within the artwork as they represent the five Doctors at Hunter ENT.
The three people symbols making up each circle hold a threefold meaning: Each Doctors life’s work in the field, embracing their families and those who have played a part in their individual career journeys.
The three person traditional symbols used throughout the artwork also hold significance in the number three being:
- ENT - Ears, Nose and Throat;
- Holistic health for kids, youth and adults
- key values of reconciliation being – relationship, respect and opportunities.
These circles are connected to the central image as steppingstones, linked to five single people images, symbolic of each Doctor and their coming together in the valuable and innovative creation of the new Konara Holistic Medical Centre in Broadmeadow and the challenging journey taken to their positions today.
Each of the five separate doctor imagery resembles a stethoscope referring to the five areas of holistic medical services provided at Konara: Spiritual, emotional, physical, mental and social.
Soft yellow ochre tones used throughout the design represent honour and remembrance and pay tribute to Dr Colin Reid, a co-founder of Hunter ENT, alongside Dr Robert Eisenburg. Orange throughout the work highlights the creativity of both Dr Johnson Huang in music and Dr Robert Eisenburg in arts and music, while collectively the artwork colour palette brings together earthy and water tones in representation of country.
Worimi country is depicted across the top of the work in sandy tones and waving songlines, demonstrating the vast sand dunes found in Port Stephens, along with interwoven blue imagery, reflective of the beautiful waterways in the area.
Flowing across the top of the artwork is a blue water engraving referring to the Hunter River and above this we cross over into Worimi country, the traditional lands of Dr Kelvin Kong, whose imagery sits at the top right of the artwork.
Flowing across the bottom of the work we see a darker blue engraving symbolising the Pacific Ocean that runs down the East Coast of NSW. This rises into a flat top mountain shape, depicting Mount Yengo of the Hunter Valley, the Uluru of the East and highly significant to all clan groups across the region. This imagery pays respect to Aboriginal people Past, Present & Future, acknowledging Aboriginal people as the longest living culture in the world.
Both Johnson Huang and Dr Daron Cope are placed upon the Pacific Ocean reflective of their travel to Australia from other continents with Dr Toby Corlette depicted on the left of the work and Dr Eisenburg shown at the top left of the artwork reflective of his position as one of the Hunter ENT founding members.
