Man on a mission

After a seven-year labour of love in his garage Newtown artist Kon Parris is ready to rinse his brushes and deliver his 300 square metre biblical masterpiece to the Newtown Mission chapel this month.

The giant mural depicting scenes from the Bible’s Book of Revelation will be attached to the ceiling of the chapel in a series of twenty square panels. 

Each of the panels of “The Revelation Ceiling” covers a scene from the Book of Revelation and are united by a giant circular rainbow.

Newtown Mission Artistic Events Coordinator Amanda Wharton said the mural was one of the largest ceiling murals in the southern hemisphere and possibly the biggest oil on canvas artwork ever created.

Kon Parris volunteered his time to paint the mural and three years ago gave up fulltime employment to devote himself to the artwork.

Newtown Mission and generous public donations covered the cost for materials, but $15,000 is still needed to complete the installation.

Ms Wharton said the mural would be open for public viewing from September 1 and guided tours could be arranged by appointment.

Newtown Mission is a congregation of the Uniting Church in Australia and offers welfare and fellowship services to the Inner West community. 

The Mission runs a daily Drop-In Centre providing meals and counselling to the homeless and disadvantaged.  Last year the ministry extended to a pro bono legal service staffed once a week by volunteer lawyers from Phillips Fox.

If you would like to financially assist with the installation of the mural then you can make a donation to the Revelation Ceiling project.  The Mission also welcomes volunteers to help with the services provided by the Drop-In Centre. (Image courtesy of Newtown Mission).