Telling the Two Sisters Creation story, Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa, it is an important and powerful expression of Australian identity. Through design excellence, it celebrates family, resilience and the principles of caring for Country.
In the story two sisters are travelling back to their home. The younger sister has been lost for a long time in the south, and her big sister leads her north across vast distances. Comforting her younger sister, the older sister teaches her about the Country they travel through. They stop on the way to perform Inma (sacred singing and dancing).
Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa was the most complex livery ever designed for this type of aircraft fuselage. It features 20,700 painted dots in 18 different colours and took 100 painters in Airbus’ Mirabel, Canada paintshop to execute over 14 days.
The design process involved deconstructing the original painting and reforming it as a design that worked around the A220 fuselage, in a way that responds to the viewer from all angles – from the ground, from an air bridge and in the sky. Scale, colour, distribution of motifs and compatibility with Qantas branding and safety requirements were carefully considered.
