If you’re in Adelaide and looking for a day of exploration and fantastic street art, Port Adelaide is a great place to visit. Port Adelaide now has many large pieces of street art, as well as numerous smaller pieces. While art can be found throughout the area, look around the Port Adelaide lighthouse vicinity for a few amazing large pieces for you to admire.
The Wonderwalls Festival, a street mural festival, held in Port Adelaide has brought some of the best international, national, and local street and mural artists to the area since 2015. Several large-scale murals have been painted throughout Port Adelaide’s historic streets as part of the festival.
Our Visit to Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide, 14 kilometres from Adelaide’s central business district, is a port-side suburb where history meets modernity. This historic port town with a rich maritime history exudes charm. It also has its fair share of cool watering holes where you can unwind and soak in the atmosphere of the wharf.
In 2020, the Wonderwalls Festival ran from March 6th to March 8th. My wife and I decided to go down to the ‘Port’ on the last day to soak in some of the vibe and, of course, the street art.
It was the first month of autumn, a bright and sunny Sunday morning with no clouds in the sky. The predicted temperature was 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). Everything needed for a perfect day.
We drove down to the Port, stopping first at the Port Adelaide Visitor Information Centre at 66 Commercial Road. We got a printed copy of the Adelaide Fringe Street Art Explosion 2020 map, which includes the Wonderwalls in Port Adelaide, and set out to explore the Port and its vibrant street art.
Enjoy this small selection of Port Adelaide’s street art, which shows a variety of styles. Visit Port Adelaide to get the full experience.
Untitled – 2015
Artist: Askew One & Elliot Francis Stewart – New Zealand Location: 293 St Vincent Street (eastern wall)
This one is hard to miss, taking up the entire side of a disused building.
The wall is a tribute to the region’s history. It pays respect to the First Nations people of the area, the Kaurna People and Kaurna Land.
The text on the wall is translated as follows: “Let’s recognise Kaurna People and Kaurna Land. It’s good that you came to Kaurna Land. Learn from the past so that we can grasp the future.”
“Considering the past of the region and how affected Kaurna and other indigenous people have been, I think this is such an incredible sentiment to have and feel honoured to have been given the task of painting these words.” – Askew
Until the Quiet Comes – 2015
Artist: Etam Cru – Poland Location: 293 St Vincent Street (western wall)
On the western wall of the same disused building as Askew One and Elliot Francis Stewart’s mural above, Polish painters Sainer & Bezt (Etam Cru) have created a large mural showing a young man in a classic royal costume with his eyes closed. In their characteristic style, the artwork includes two of their regular artistic elements, such as a white rat on his shoulder and a skull emblem on a ring.
Previously undetected concrete cancer has accelerated the fading of the piece.
Violet – 2017
Artist: Amanda Lynn – USA Location: Timpson Place
Amanda Lynn is a muralist and fine artist based in San Francisco.
She is inspired by the female form and spirit. Amanda likes to represent strong seductive women that features the delicate beauty of the natural world and people through line work and decorative patterning.
Cupid with Bow – 2020
Artist: PichiAvo – Spain Location: McLaren Parade (Dockside Tavern)
This is one of my favourite walls of all time.
Juan Antonio Sanchez and Alvaro Hernandez make up PichiAvo. They are known for a style that blends urban artwork and Greek and Roman mythology. They like to create a vibrant splash of colour. Their style combines art, sculpture and architecture into one.
Here their work depicts the sculpture Cupid by the French sculptor François-Joseph Bosio (1808), although here the Roman god is armed with a long arrow made from an existing horizontal duct on the wall.
Our North is the South – 2017
Artist: Inti Castro – Chile Location: 11 Warrawee Dock
This mural features the ‘kusillo’, one of Inti’s signature characters, an innocent looking figure dressed as a clown. He also employs the contrast of yellow and purple to describe the clash of light and dark. Note the upside down globe.
The ‘kusillo’ is a character or jester who wears a wool mask.
His characters are frequently resembling puppets or dolls, and they usually show both the human figure and animals. These characters are considered creepy by some.
The Love Birds – 2019
Artist: PHAT1 and Lady Diva – New Zealand Location: 34 Nile Street
Charles and Janine Williams (aka PHAT1 and Lady Diva), a husband and wife team, have painted a whimsical bird scene. It features both a male and female Splendid Fairywren I believe. Please let me know if I’m mistaken.
The scene is meant to evoke the sentiment of many locals who share a love of the Port.
“This is because birds talk about the stories, legends and tales of the place; they talk about the way the environment is changing; they also talk about our link to our culture. And above all, we love birds!” – PHAT1
Untitled – 2015
Artist: SMUG ONE – Australia (based in Scotland) Location: Robe Street
This fantastic wall can be found down a laneway off Robe Street. SMUG keeps it local in this piece, which features a Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee and a fishing rod. If you look closely, you can see the artist’s name on the iced coffee container just above the holder.
SMUG uses photographs as the basis of his creations. He takes these pictures and recreates them with mind-blowing accuracy using only paints.
Untitled – 2017
Artist: ZEDR – Australia Location: 50 St Vincent Street
ZEDR, who is originally from Adelaide, began his career as a graffiti artist.
ZEDR’s work here celebrates cultural figures and faces with haunting accuracy and technique. With bold and dramatic colours, he draws the image into the viewer’s mind. His use of figures, colour, and attention to detail make his work visually appealing.
His distinct style distinguishes his work. This effect and design are motivated by his graffiti origins and tell the story of his life.
Knight in Shining Armor – 2017
Artist: Telmo Miel – Netherlands Location: 50 St Vincent Street
The duo Telmo Miel is Telmo Pieper and Miel Krutzmann.
The wall, with its candy colours, depicts a small boy stopping a truck to save a koala. According to the artists, it was inspired by the many ‘road kills’ that occur on a daily basis around the world. The boy dressed as a modern knight with his polished helmet, red cape and heroic actions, is trying to save the koala.
Rahma – 2017
Artist: Claire Foxton – Australia Location: 1 Marryatt Street
Claire’s realistic portraits are created in great detail, praising local heroes from all over the country. Her murals are concerned with the truth of a place and its people – the unsung heroes who help their communities come to life.
This mural features Rahma, a graduate of the Ladder programme, part of a non-profit organisation that assists young people in breaking the cycle of homelessness.
“Ladder gives young people the tools to take control of their lives, transition to independence and achieve their potential. Rahma is an inspiration to so many in what she’s overcome and how she’s rebuilt her life.” – Claire
I hope you have enjoyed this selection of murals from Port Adelaide. If you are interested in street art, you can also check out my posts on street art in Adelaide’s city centre, Florence and Singapore. Access these stories from this link, or use the category search feature on this site.
On Instagram, search for me at @solxciii for more street art, primarily from Adelaide, South Australia.
2 comments
Very picturesque. You certainly make it sound a very interesting place.
Thank you so much. 😀