How University of Wollongong student and mother of three Adi Holmes became the face of Liverpool
/ By Maryanne TaoukAdi Holmes's face greets every guest who steps out of Liverpool train station.
Key points:
- The mural stands four storeys high in Liverpool's CBD and was painted in 2019
- Adi Holmes was artist Claire Foxton's first and only choice for the mural
- The artist was inspired by her passion, strength, tenacity and vulnerability
The 35-year-old international relations student has become a household name in the suburb after her portrait was painted across four storeys in the city's centre in early 2019.
"I always get stopped. Just the other day a man yelled out to me at the train station and was like, 'Hey, that's you,' and pointed to the painting," she said.
"It's weird because this type of mural is usually for someone who died or someone who did these amazing things around the world.
"But I'm no-one."
Far from being no-one, Ms Holmes moved to Liverpool in 2011 from Fiji and began studying a law degree at the University of Wollongong's south-west campus.
At the same time she was working in the university's customer service office and raising three children.
"I was juggling a lot, but I have this dream, this goal that I want to reach, and I know I'll reach it," she said.
During her early days in Australia, Ms Holmes became involved in advocacy work for humanitarian group Amnesty International, after seeing a social media post about the Free West Papua movement.
"I didn't know anything about it, and it was so close to my home and to Australia, I wanted to do something to help."
Ms Holmes runs events dedicated to educating people on West Papua, which has been under Indonesian rule for more than 50 years.
According to a Human Rights Watch report, more than 500,000 of the Indigenous population have been killed, and pro-independence protesters and political activists have been convicted.
"As a Melanesian, I knew I could make a difference to this area that I loved," she said.
Her work reached artist Claire Foxton, who was commissioned to paint the mural for the university.
"Claire was inspired by my story, and she chose me.
"I thought it was going to be a small painting, but when Claire finished, I was overwhelmed."
Ms Foxton said Ms Holmes was the obvious person for her design after seeing her take on a new challenge as a mature-aged student, being a mother, and advocating for others.
"Adi was my first and only choice … I admired her strength and tenacity.
"I particularly loved that she was a mum but still unwavering with her passion for social justice and her career goals," Ms Foxton said.
When the two met for the first time, Ms Holmes became emotional talking about the issues in West Papua and her own journey to Liverpool. Ms Foxton said that was what she wanted to capture in the portrait.
"She was passionate, vulnerable, soft but strong. I often get messages from random people that tell me in different ways that I achieved that [in the portrait]."
It was emotional for Ms Hoxton as well. After finishing the final brush stroke on the mural she remembers crying.
"It was, and probably still is, the biggest project I've done. Not just in the size, but in the mental challenges. It felt like a huge feat for me and it was a feeling of relief and pride."
Now, with two years left in her degree, Ms Holmes says she's inspired by her own mural.
"I see it and I get strength from it, from what it represents," she said.
"It's a me that I'm trying to be, and I don't want to let anyone down. It keeps me going."