The corner of Alexandra Rd and Canning Highway was a disgraceful eyesore of meaningless graffiti and peeling grey paint. At my own expense, and with the voluntary labour of local artists, we turned this corner into an iconic symbol of the area with a red-tailed black cockatoo feather, which also tastefully points to deeper values and principles of the Extinction Rebellion social movement.

The Big Pink Wall gives locals something to smile about and expresses the importance of looking after our environment. By daring to be open about this, I have had many East Fremantle locals express happiness and even relief that their own sentiments are reflected in the artwork of their community. Beyond personal opinions about Extinction Rebellion, many feel themselves gaining a sense of community agency, diversity and strength in seeing a public mural in their area that carries meaning - regardless of whether they agree - and not simply beauty.

I understood that elected members of the East Fremantle council probably would not find it appropriate to approve such a mural, which is why i chose to go ahead with it without putting them in the position of needing to give me approval. Now, the community response is clear - East Freo loves the Big Pink Wall. Please forgive the cheekiness and allow it to remain as it is!