I was afraid of making eye contact. This city can amplify loneliness. Character runs far deeper. A gaze that starts a conversation. I wanted to be a local.

I first blogged about the public artwork “Village Voices” in my nearby lane-way a few months ago. In the time since the words have been updated a couple of times, including today. And guess what? I know the woman responsible for the latest words. We met last year, introduced by a mutual friend over dinner. We’ve since caught up a couple of times.

Karina Kreminski. The text by Karina was generated in workshops held at Surry Hills Library in late 2016. Located in Crown Street, the library holds a significant collection of historic and contemporary books that inform our understanding of the past, present and likely future of this area. Karina, born in South America, of Slavic heritage has recently moved to Surry Hills.

Knowing her, certainly adds to the experience of walking through the lane-way and gazing upon the art, as I do most days.

And as a post-script from January 14, here’s Karina.