‘Take the Long Way Home’ is a visual call by the artist encouraging residents and visitors to ‘slow down’ and study their natural environment to appreciate the attentive care served by the community for the wildlife.

Boldly camouflaging the powering state of the monolithic concrete wall, Joanna has chosen a playful yet soothing colour palette of warm tones to illustrate Bayswater’s prized biodiversity, with their forms reduced to emphatic lines. This panoramic wall of iconic birds, trees, and flowers nurtured by the community’s ‘stewards’ is intended to engender a sense of pride and discovery with the residents that can be embraced and continued for future generations.

Joanna engaged with the Bayswater community by calling for submissions from residents of flora and fauna images that create a feeling of nostalgia, home, community, and joy. The submissions were then selected by popular vote, and those that best expressed Bayswater’s botanical identity were incorporated into the mural. Wildlife from the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary is also referenced, focusing on the giant egret, illustrated in a sizably dominating form with its long beak and neck. The impressive bird is an iconic wayfinding symbol for the car park while creating visual curiosity, particularly for children.