While thousands of people marched around the world to protest the death of African-American man George Floyd in Minneapolis, Francisca Carvajal, an artist known professionally as Paradigma, felt a sense of familiarity.
Just over two years ago, Carvajal and her partner made the decision to leave Chile and migrate to Australia, in search for better career opportunities.
She left from her homeland at a time when social unrest was beginning to bubble up.
In October 2019, large-scale protests broke out in the country, in response to a rise in the Santiago Metro's subway fare and the increased cost of living.
The protests, which we only halted by the pandemic, .
A protester kicks a tear gas canister during clashes with police in Santiago, Chile in 2019. Source: AAP
“Chilean civil society is waking up and is claiming back its rights,” the 32-year-old artist says.
She is glad to have left her homeland in time to avoid the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have left 16,000 dead and more than half a million infected.
She says her new life in Australia is in stark contrast to what she experienced in Chile.
“I have felt very well received, and I have found many Australians who want to help and support me,” Carvajal explains.
She, like many other artists, have had to rely on a variety of different jobs, such as cleaning, babysitting and teaching Spanish, to keep afloat amid the pandemic.
But life in Australia is not always rosy, Carvajal has fallen victim to discrimination, which inspired her to pick up her paintbrush.
Francisca Carvajal, Melbourne artist. Source: Alejandra Foncecilla
“Once my housemate insulted me for speaking Spanish in a shared space, the dining room. And that shocked me a lot," she laments.
"She was upset to hear me speaking Spanish and it enraged her,” she explains.
“And that, together with the George Floyd case, which made world news, made me think I couldn't just leave it at that. I had to take a stand somehow.
All Colours Matter
The incidents inspired her to create a mural titled ‘All Colours Matter’ which depicts a colourful garden and hands of all colours reaching for the sky.
"All these giant hands are trying to get closer to the sun, just as plants do when they bloom."
“Many times, people are overly judged by the colour of their skin, and this made me think of this contrast to the colour of plants and flowers, and the colour of people's skin.
“As humans we too have certain contrasts that are interesting.”
'All Colours Matter' mural. Source: Art by Paradigma
With her piece, she hopes to overturn the negative ideas that come with discrimination.
"Here the concept is rather hidden, because everything looks very beautiful and I wanted to give it a more positive outlook."
For the muralist, the idea of visualising her work on a large scale is a challenge.
“When I was young, I felt embarrassed when people saw me painting. Now, 15 years later, I am in front of this great wall, not seeing anyone, but people see me.
“I love the visualisation that a mural can have.”
With emotion in her words, the artist says she felt "powerful" as her work helped "bend" the constraints of a "strong, firm, big wall", which is also a metaphore to the meaning behind her Melbourne mural.
She says her artistic inspiration comes from her community in Australia and the political and social issues most Latin Americans endure.
"This is what I've felt since I've been in Australia," she explains.
"Australia is an international platform", but I feel "part of all Latin America, I'm not just Chilean".
