Mural Mystery Solved
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday June 25, 2002
When Marie Donovan read of the search for the ``Italian tilers" who installed murals in an Albion Park church 30 years ago, she did a double-take.
Mrs Donovan, of West Wollongong, recognised the intricate murals behind the altar at St Paul's as the work of her 81-year-old husband Darcy.
And, after almost 60 years of marriage, Mrs Donovan knew he was about as Italian as a pint of Guinness.
The tiles were laid in 1975, following the rough hand-drawn plans of artist Vladimir Tichy, a Czech-born refugee, master ceramicist and sculptor.
Mr Tichy never met the men who brought his work to life but knew a group of talented Italian tilers were involved and wanted to track them down.
Mr Donovan contacted the Mercury this week to say he wasn't Italian but he and two mates had laid the tiles and - with names such as Col Smith and Merv Horne - they weren't Italian either.
While an Italian company had tiled the altar itself, the wall murals were assigned to Mr Donovan and his mates.
Mr Tichy is delighted the puzzle is solved because he has always been impressed with the quality of the job.
``It was very difficult work," he said.
``They are figures in silhouette, it is not a square mural.
``If you do something with square corners it is no problem but these figures had no square lines so it was really difficult to lay them without some distortion.
``They managed it very nicely."
Corrimal demolisher Max Douglas recently salvaged a large Tichy wall mural from the old Integral Energy building in Coniston.
There are plans to resurrect it on public land and Mr Tichy, now living in Sydney, will come to Wollongong to help.
And Mr Donovan won't have to come out of retirement to help - at 81-years-of-age, he's still accepting commissions.
© 2002 Illawarra Mercury