Tori-Jay Mordey sits in front of her mural titled ‘Before’ at Taigum Square
Hey Tori! Care to talk us through your practice?
Hello hello, my name is Tori-Jay Mordey and I’m an illustrator and mural artist based in Meanjin/Brisbane. I have over 10 years of experience working in the creative industry, a lot of my art practice revolves around illustrating for children's books, front covers of novels, documents, concept art, storyboarding, and painting large scale murals.
My most well-known works include:
VIVID SYDNEY (2024) projecting my art onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylons
TARINGA COLES LOCAL (2024) exclusively designing the wall paper, tote bags and mural for the entire store
OUR FLAG OUR STORY (2024) a beloved children's book about the Torres Strait Flag, written by Bernard Namok Jr and Thomas Mayo
HOW THE FISH GOT THEIR BONES (2026) illustrated for the NRL star Sam Thaiday, for his first debut as a children's book author
Illustrating for the award-winning and internationally published children’s book A BLUE KIND OF DAY (2022)
It seems like recently you’ve been super engaged in the educational aspect of the arts scene! Was running workshops and panels something you’ve always wanted to do?
I thoroughly enjoy getting to connect with people from all walks of life who have the same curiosity and passion for creating. Doing workshops and panels was never something I thought I would do. Deep down I’ve always been quite a shy person, so it’s been a huge learning curve to get up and talk in front of a room full of people. The more positive reception I got from my workshops - the more I understood the value my voice has.
Much of your mural work is placed in super public-facing areas. Is there anything you find pretty challenging about painting with a lot of eyes on you - or have you gotten pretty used to it throughout your journey?
Over the years I’ve gotten pretty used to it, it used to be quite daunting having people watch you while you paint, especially in the early stages when the design is looking rough and not polished. The biggest challenge isn’t the people watching, it’s the intense exposure to public opinion.
You kinda have no control how the public will react to your piece, majority of the time it’s very positive, but I’ve also had a couple run-ins with people who directly told me they weren’t a fan of the mural and that this was all a waste of time and money. You can’t impress everyone, so you’re better off doing it for yourself and the people who really appreciate the positive change in the space.
I absolutely love your illustrated covers for children’s books. How did you get into the world of cover illustration? Do you have any memorable book covers you enjoyed as a kid yourself?
Since I was a little kid I always wanted to be an Illustrator. I grew up with learning difficulties, I struggled a lot with a speech impairment and not being able to read; so as a kid I heavily relied on illustrations in picture books to tell me the story. In my teens I fell in love with comics, manga and anime. I was heavily inspired by the art style and would draw it constantly, then over time I found my own art style.
My most favourite book growing up was Shaun Tan’s “The Arrival”. It was so beautifully illustrated and had no text or dialogue throughout it. The complexities of the emotions and the story that was being told were visually so easy to understand; it had a universal dialogue without needing words. I hope to one day create a book as impactful as that was.
Finally, I’d love to know some of your favourite fellow Torres Strait Islander artists and what they mean to you?
Like to give a shout out to my mum. She in a lot of ways was a good influence and supporter in me becoming an artist, much like herself. We have a great bloodline of artists within my Torres Strait side of the family. In a lot of ways I hope I make them all proud.
You can check out Tori’s work here on her website, or on her IG page here!
