A giant image of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hugging a woman has been painted on a street silo in Melbourne as a message of peace to the world.
The image of Ardern embracing the Muslim woman was spread following the Christchurch terror attacks as a symbol of love and tolerance, even lighting up the world's tallest building.
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Now the image has found a permanent home in Melbourne on the Tinning St silo in Brunswick.
Artist Loretta Lizzio was invited by mural organisers to paint the massive work on the silo, which stands 75 feet tall. She told Stuff the artwork "couldn't be more fitting for this area".
"I think it's important because hate crimes are a global issue and this mural would have been fitting all over the world," she said.
"become a beacon of tolerance, love and peace in these divisive times".
"We want this message, this moment in time, remembered. We want to learn from it, we want it to hold us up, to strengthen us," she said on the project's GoFundMe page.
"We want everyone to know we are them, that they are us and, that we are, and always will be, stronger together."
More than AU$11,000 (NZ$11,750) was crowdfunded for the mural. The donations went towards paying for the Lizzio's equipment, such as a cherry picker to reach the silo.
"Lizzio is a visionary artist, a woman of strength and creative ambition. Her large-scale works can be found on walls all over the world, from London to Vancouver and Melbourne. We're incredibly lucky to have her," Veltre said.
Newshub.
