Artist Jordan Rush thrilled with decision to keep her Geraldton shoey mural outside Foreshore Hangout

It’s been the centre of controversy in the less than six months since it was created, but the artist behind the most talked about piece of artwork in Geraldton doesn’t know what all the fuss is about. The mural painted on the side of the Foreshore Hangout Lounge by Fremantle-based artist Jordan Rush depicts Australian UFC fighter Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa celebrating in his signature style — doing a shoey. After community complaints it promoted harmful drinking habits, the sports bar owner Sumit Prajapati was close to relenting and painting over the mural last week. But when news broke, a groundswell of support convinced him to keep it. Ms Rush, who makes her living painting murals just like the “shoey” one, has been left slightly bemused by the controversy. When Mr Prajapati put out a call for submissions for a mural for his new sports-themed bar, Ms Rush jumped at the chance. She is a huge UFC fan, felt a connection with Bam Bam and believed she could do justice to the moment. She had no inkling the painting would have such an immediate negative reaction. “I had no idea it was going to cause controversy. I just finished it and didn’t think anything of it until I got home and saw all the negative comments about it. From what I could see at the time, it felt like half the population of Geraldton hated it,” she said. Thanks to community support, including from Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn, the mural got a second lease of life and the artist could not be happier at the apparent public turnaround. “I’m amazed, I didn’t think people liked it. The amount of support for it was a huge surprise. It taught me that the Karens of the world are often the loudest and have a strong desire to mute the world,” she said. Ms Rush is no stranger to provocative artwork and believes the decision to keep the shoey artwork is a win for the region. “I’m so glad, I had already accepted that it was getting painted over so I’m still in disbelief. I’m not sure if he’ll (Mr Prajapati) want me to paint the next one,” she said. “I’ve seen in a couple of posts that he wants to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. I think he’s a bit put off by all the drama and my work tends to be more provocative/edgy compared to most of the street art in WA.” Mr Prajapati plans to change the mural outside his bar after every year.