4 Birds, 1 Cat Along Riding Rd by Debra Hood

A reworking of Debra’s well-known Sentinels on Riding Road (c. 2016)

Riding Road is a picturesque tree-lined thoroughfare running from Wynnum Road, Morningside to Oxford Street, Bulimba. Lining each side of the road are 60-year-old, Melaleuca quinquenervia, or paperbark trees. These were planted to create a pleasantly themed road at a time when Riding Road was parted with a tramline. Like giant sentinels, these trees have kept watch over locals for generations, providing a shaded sidewalk for school children, strollers, and dogwalkers alike. Their ugliness is their beauty; their peeling, shredded bark reveals a gallery of magnificent patterns and colours and their creamy brush blossoms confuse us with their sickly-sweet honey scent. As one side of the road hosts power poles with wires running through the paperbarks, the trees receive an unflattering and savage prune directly through the canopy center, this operation is known by local families as the “Telstra Haircut”.

Debra’s signature style is reflected in Riding Road, with numerous small details, such as dogs and birds, scattered throughout the artwork.