The Royal Melbourne Hospital
John Cade Ward

Edwina Green is a multidisciplinary artist who works across sculpture, installation, film, and painting to investigate narratives of perception, historical re-framing, and the post-colonial paradigm and its impact on people and place. Edwina grew up between the western suburbs of Melbourne andQueenstown, Tasmania – an old mining town with generations of ecological destruction.

Her connection to culture, and ties to reclaiming intergenerational disconnection, inform Edwina’s practice. It aims to challenge understandings and interactions of Indigeneity, ideas surrounding self-exploration, and personal and creative autonomy within a highly politicised position as a First Nations artist in Australia. Works inclusive of her bull kelp sculpture have received national recognition, and the video work ‘It’s Your Job to Decolonise Too’ was shown in New York, in 2019.

Nokegerrer in my language means to ‘Make a Basket.’ This on-going series of works looks at ways in which ancestral knowledge is used as a resource for connection, calmness, and cultural rejuvenation.The playful depictions of woven baskets and native flowers intend to enable relatability and accessibility, while also paying homage to cultural practices that have aided in my own mental health, and a lot of other First Peoples internationally.Weaving and other objects that physically hold items, or space, have, through the ages, held my ancestors and family. I designed in a way that connected Indigenous and non-Indigenous patrons and staff to a cultural practice that can be engaged with by all; I intended that this work was joyful and also represented nurture, as all who use this centre deserve to be inspired, uplifted, and cared for in an individual sense.

Kate Ballis is a Melbourne-based photographic artist whose work explores the theme of seeing the unseen. Her colour-drenched images of utopian landscapes use infrared technology to isolate colours within the spectrum to bring a unique understanding of a particular place.

Referencing ancient mythology and feminist icons, her work explores places and spirits of the other world, making them seem even more foreign than the earth we know.Kate’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Los Angeles, PalmSprings, Miami, and at art fairs across Europe. Her work has featured in Aesthetica, An Other, Wallpaper, Vogue Living, VICE, Forbes among others.

In my work, I strive to convey the sublime beauty of the natural world and the unseen energies that surround us, the hidden frequencies of light that lie beyond the perception of the human eye.Through my lens, I delve into the realm of infrared photography, a medium that reveals the vibrant beauty of the natural world undergoing the magical process of photosynthesis. Infrared photography, to me, is more than an artistic technique; it is a spiritual endeavour.

Melanie Caple graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) from RMIT and holds a Masters of Arts Management. Over the last fifteen years she has developed her practice to incorporate finely detailed oil paintings and large-scale exterior murals. Examining our relationship with the botanical world around us with a focus on immortalising a sense of place, she uses native flora, colour and avian species to activate walls and canvases to draw attention to the fragility and vibrancy of our landscape.

Melanie has been commissioned to create public artworks in dozens of locations across Victoria, NSW and SA, working with local government bodies, commercial and corporate clients and private commissions. Melanie was a finalist in the 2024 Percival Portrait Prize, a finalist in the 2022 and the 2019 KAAF Art Prize, the 2024 and 2023 Omnia Art Prize and the Winner of the 2016 People’s Choice Award in the Roi Art Prize. She has also been a selected mural artist for Frankston’s Big Picture Festival in 2021 and 2022, Urban Canvas Mural Festival in Melbourne 2023 and Benalla Street Art Festival 2024. 

When creating a mural design for the John Cade 1Nth Ward, a few things were paramount from the beginning.
- The mural had to complement the architecture and the surrounds
- The design had to have a flowing effect, where it could cover the expanse of the wall surface without feeling claustrophobic.
- The artwork had to make a point of bringing the outside in, ensuring that softness from nature was able to feature within the design.

Whilst developing the design, the subjects were very deliberately selected. The addition of pea flowers and grevillea species. Highlighting native floral species and injecting further colour into the design, broad leaf pea flowers and grevillea bring added texture to the detailed elements. Also featured are leucadendron flowers - a common choice for established gardens or balcony pots around Melbourne - abstracted wattle and eucalyptus species.

The plants are presented in shades that show their interaction with light. Contrasting the detailed pieces with botanical shapes that feature as block colour will allow for respite across the surface.The mural has been created to be read from right to left. Where right is dawn, moving into day and then soft dusk at the other end on the far left. This is symbolic of seeking rest and restoration, where within the ward people can find a sense of calm.

The dots that feature, as well as creating movement along the wall, are coloured in honour of John Cade himself. Lithium starts as a pearlescent white and shifts to black when exposed to air. Again, reading the wall from right to left, these dots transition across the same colour tonality as lithium, marking the discovery and passion that is still instilled in the team who work within the ward.Together the elements of the mural are designed to provide a sense of warmth and a feeling of belonging.

Artwork by Melanie Caple / Photography by Nicole Reed