Colouring the streets of Maribyrnong – StreetWORKS 2019
Published on 31 May 2019
New street art murals have popped up in West Footscray and Maidstone as part of Council’s annual StreetWORKS program.
The curated public art program creates innovative, visual street art to enliven our city’s spaces and places, while discouraging graffiti and tagging.
Over the past month, the three works have been installed by artists Heesco, Sarah Allen and Justine McAllister.
Working closely with the business whose wall he installed the mural on, Heesco enlivened a dark space at Sparesbox – an online retailer for everything automotive – by creating a bright and expansive work.
“I met with Florian (Managing Director of Sparesbox) and we discussed a few ideas and developed the concept in collaboration. I wanted to create something different and unusual in the given space, and I wanted to try and design something anamorphic,” Heesco said.
“The final image was taken from a still frame from their (Sparesbox) promotional video. The figure walking towards a car with a bouquet of flowers stood out me to as a very nice image that created a mood and told a story. Then I decided to create a mirror reflection image depicting a more gloomy industrial setting with thick clouds,” Heesco continued.
Local illustrator and artist Sarah Allen, who is known for her botanical work, created a botanical themed mural on the side wall of Rex Hairdressing in West Footscray.
“I've been drawing and learning about Australian native plants from the Western Volcanic Plains recently and was keen to include them in the mural. The main motif in the design is a stylized Hakea ulicina plant, and Andy from Rex Haidressing was keen to include Australian Grasstrees (Xanthorrhoea) in the design, so you'll see that featured too,” Sarah said.
“The forms and colours are stylized and abstracted but there’s still an obvious connection to nature. Street art adds many positives to the community, and I was aiming to create a mural that would make people feel happy,” Sarah continued.
The final 2019 StreetWORKS piece, created by Justine McAllister, is located in Maidstone and also takes inspiration from a local business.
“One for the Crow is a great plant based cafe and nursery located on the same block as the mural, so the artwork showcases four, much larger than life crows surrounded in foliage to play off the location of the wall itself. True to my artwork style, the piece has bold colour, shape and pattern work,” Justine said.
Justine loves that public art can not only transform a space, but bring people together as well.
“Public art engages the community and creates a sense of belonging and culture. The artwork becomes a platform for discussion and allows people to share their views and reactions of a piece,” Sarah said.
Since the program’s inception in 2014, 31 street art pieces have been installed at various locations across the City of Maribyrnong.
StreetWORKS 2019
The three new StreetWORKS installations can be viewed at the following locations.
Artist: Heesco
Location: Sparesbox, 379 Somerville Road, West Footscray
Artist: Sarah Allen
Location: Rex Hairdressing, 640 Barkly St, West Footscray (Elphinstone Street facing wall)
Artist: Justine McAllister
Location: Cnr Commercial and Curtin Streets, Maidstone
Message from the Mayor, Cr Martin Zakharov
StreetWORKS is a unique collaboration between Maribyrnong City Council, local artists, property and business owners that helps enliven our streets with colourful, vibrant murals. The initiative supports and promotes the arts and enables it to be appreciated by the entire community, with the added benefit of reducing graffiti and tagging.
Maribyrnong News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news by subscribing to our eNews.