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In 2019 Boomalli was approached by Facebook about engaging an Aboriginal artist from the Sydney area for their Artist in Residency Program. The AIR Program engages local artists to create stunning visual murals for Facebook’s offices all over the world.

Wiradjuri, Yuin and Gadigal artist Nadeena Dixon was commissioned by Facebook to create a large scale mural at their Barangaroo Towers headquarters.

The mural is titled “Jenny Lock Gadigal Nangamai” and features handwoven elements, direct painting, sketching and collage.

“Jenny Lock is my Great Grandfather’s Grandmother. That makes her my Great, Great, Great Grandmother. Jenny is a Gadigal woman of the Sydney area. Her story reveals a woman of great character was able to exist across two worlds at a time when very little was understood about Aboriginal people. Jenny was born in 1860 in Sydney – a pivotal time in history when Sydney was a colonial town still being established. Jenny lived in a time of great upheaval and change for Aboriginal people, who in many ways were unable to maintain their traditional cultures as Western civilisation encroached onto Aboriginal ways of life. 

The mural is a story map which re-traces Jenny’s life. It retraces story, meaning and connection, creating a fluid and ongoing dialogue through ancestral story worlds interconnected to astronomy, seasons and traditional gathering practices. This work is about a shared history and connects all Australians with an inspiring story of a remarkable woman. It is a fun way of sharing Gadigal culture through art, storytelling and weaving.” – Nadeena Dixon