Three weeks since missing persons posters began peeling off lamp posts, Isla Bell’s presence is still as strong as ever in Melbourne.
The 19-year-old Brunswick creative and permaculturalist, known as “Little Red” to her friends, has inspired sprawling street art across the city. Red and orange ribbons have been tied to trees and benches, catching the eyes of passers-by, like her striking hair.
Isla Bell’s loved ones have remembered her through art and a vigil since her body was found.
Graffiti artists painted her name under a bridge in Belgrave, onto a Metro train and above a floral tribute in Abbotsford. Students at RMIT University honoured her in an exhibition with the message: “Rest in peace. Rest in power.”
The tributes have deeply moved her family, who were devastated when Isla’s body was found at a Dandenong tip in Melbourne’s south-east on November 19, 46 days after she went missing.
St Kilda man Marat Ganiev, 53, was charged with murdering her in St Kilda East on October 7. Hampton man Eyal Yaffe, 57, was charged with assisting an offender.
The creative tributes to Isla sparked the idea for her family to set up the Isla Bell Charitable Fund, raising money for an annual art award in her honour and a scholarship for marginalised young people studying what she was passionate about: art and nature.
An Isla Bell mural painted by street artist Torn in Abbotsford.Credit: Torn
“Words and thoughts are not changing society’s attitudes towards domestic violence, gendered violence, complex mental health and the marginalised fast enough,” Isla’s mother, Justine Spokes, said.
“Art speaks a thousand words and has the power to change hearts and attitudes.
“Educational and government supports need to begin to nurture marginalised individuals with psychosocial disabilities through respectful and meaningful relationships that meet people where they are at.”
The non-profit organisation would honour her daughter’s memory by fostering creativity, promoting causes she was passionate about and, ultimately, creating a more compassionate world, Spokes said.
A public vigil for Isla over the weekend was cancelled. Organisers cited safety concerns.
But friends held a private vigil in Tecoma, in Melbourne’s outer east, on Saturday, sharing stories about Isla by candlelight.
Isla’s friends are encouraging people to string up red and orange ribbons, representing her hair, around Melbourne to pay tribute to the 19-year-old.
So far, the colourful tributes have popped up on trees, lamp posts, benches and fences.
Red and orange ribbons tied to a bench in Monbulk, in Melbourne’s outer east, in memory of Bell.Credit: Cassandra Morgan
“I’ve seen quite a lot of them around. It just makes me feel really warm and fuzzy that people are thinking about her,” one of Isla’s friends, Isy Star, said.
“One vigil for somebody isn’t enough. We should be [coming together and] remembering people regularly.”
Isla’s former employer Tamara Griffiths, who worked with the teenager in a plant nursery, has shared photos of Isla – “such an Earth woman” – on social media.
One of her posts reached 165,000 people, and she has received countless messages about Isla from people who were strangers to her, but who hold her in their memory, she says.
“Isla’s death is going to mean a lot to a lot of women. Change is coming, and it’s coming in the shape of a woman. It’s coming in the shape of Isla, who was so passionate about [fighting] violence against women,” Griffiths said.
“She would want us to fight really hard for all the women who are still here. That’s my job now, for the rest of my life.”
Isla’s friends have also created the hashtag #callitout, urging people to call out misogynistic and hateful comments online and encourage commenters to reflect on their words.
The names of 95 women killed in Australia this year were read out at the vigil held for Isla at the weekend. That number has since increased to 98, according to Australian Femicide Watch.
People who want to get involved with The Isla Bell Charitable Fund can contact theislabellcharitablefund@gmail.com.
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