While Melbourne may be considered Australia’s street art capital, there are still many beautiful urban artworks to be found in Sydney. The city's collection of street art got a stellar new addition yesterday when a two-storey portrait of AFL legend Adam Goodes appeared on the corner of Crown Street and Foveaux Street in Surry Hills.
Created by Apparition Media, it took four artists using a cherry-picker just eight hours to create the incredibly detailed rendering of the former Sydney Swans player. While the portrait was created without any explicit connection – the mural was originally planned in February, but had to be postponed due to the health crisis – its appearance less than a week after the huge Black Lives Matter demonstrations that took place in cities and towns across Australia has added a powerful extra dimension to its creation.
Goodes, who is of Adnyamathanha and Narungga heritage, has become a prominent torchbearer for First Nations rights in Australia. He retired from professional football in 2015 following a campaign of racist booing from fans in response to Goodes' stance on the issue of racial abuse in the sport.