Urban portraits by Melbourne artist Adnate will be the face of Ruthless Jabiru’s homage to Oodgeroo Noonuccal at the Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts this month in London, an echo of Oodgeroo’s line ‘the past is all around us’. Paying tribute to local indigenous communities has been a theme of his street art for many years and it is with pleasure that we welcome Adnate to the project.

Earlier this year Adnate was commissioned to paint a 23-metre high portrait of an Indigenous boy from the northern suburbs in Melbourne’s city centre. The gaze of the boy is looking directly towards Birrarung Marr, an important Aboriginal site, with the intention to connect the two locations. “Melbourne is a significant site for Indigenous culture and history, particularly the CBD,” he says. “A 23-metre high portrait is a great way to represent and empower.”

Adnate’s solo gallery show Beyond the Lands opened last week at Metro Callery in Melbourne and will run until early June. He is described as having transcended his origins as a graffiti artist, combining close studies of his subjects with skills learned on the street using aerosol and acrylic paints.

Ruthless Jabiru will perform at Kings College London for the Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts on 31 May. Booking for the event is now open at the festival website.