Giant Swampland Taking Shape - Perfect Match Street Art
Inner West artist’s ‘Through the Trees’ emerges after two-year COVID delay
More than two years after getting the go-ahead artist Helen Proctor is finally putting paint down on her massive artwork ‘Through the Trees’.
The inner west artist was commissioned in 2019 but could not return from Amsterdam to begin the project. Helen stayed busy in Amsterdam, where her style evolved during COVID, and she updated her design now being installed.
The artwork, Through the Trees, references the flora and fauna which inhabited the Gumbramorra swamplands of the Cooks River. Much of what is now South Marrickville was an impenetrable quagmire connected to the Cooks River.
“The concept for the mural is based on the native surroundings, the underwater channels that run throughout the inner west, the gumtrees, flora and fauna, and it’s my abstract depiction of that,” said Proctor.
“I redesigned the artwork because it was about three years at that point and I had developed style wise and I was more confident in what I could do.”
Proctor’s enormous artwork is the latest of 38 works by local artists commissioned through an innovative partnership between Inner West Council and Marrickville Metro.
The result is a remarkable art destination full of innovation, surprises and insights into the suburb’s history around every corner.
Marrickville Metro has developed into much more than a shopping centre. It has grown into a fully curated art installation, with visual surprises and insights into the suburb’s history around every corner.
“I’ve spent most of my twenties living around the inner west, so that was my local supermarket and it’s pretty cool seeing it go from the shabby old Woolies to then renovating that whole building,
‘They’ve researched the demographic and included a lot of big-name designers and artists.
“Just seeing artwork in everyday life makes it a more exciting thing. It’s like being immersed in a huge gallery space or museum almost, just by going to do your shopping.”
Come down to Edinburgh Road, Marrickville Metro and watch this artist painting our latest Perfect Match mural live on the facade!
Where: Marrickville Metro, Cn Edinburgh Road & Murray Street, Marrickville
When: Weekdays 9am to 5pm weather permitting
For media enquiries, contact Brett Clancy, brett.clancy@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
EDITOR NOTES
- Helen Proctor is an Australian artist with strong ties to Marrickville. Her iconic style focuses on abstract landscape painting, representative of a passion and spirit for exploring human connection to the natural environment
- Over the past ten years, Helen has carved out a reputation within the Sydney street art scene for her stencils, paste-ups and large-scale murals. Helen lived in the Inner West for more than 12 years and her work will take inspiration from local bushland and the plants and animals who call the local area home.
- Helen’s design will compliment Liz Shreeve’s with reference to the colour palette and sharp horizontal shapes that will be present.
- Marrickville Metro Public Art and Creative Programs is a multifaceted arts program that celebrates urban artists and cultural life, their critical role in shaping local culture, community and economic prosperity.
- The Inner West boasts 6,400 jobs in creative and artistic industries, which is 8.8% of local employment and worth $1.4B per annum to the local economy.
- One in 10 people in the Inner West are employed in a creative industry, double the figure for greater Sydney.
- These projects are great examples of the benefits of engaging with artists towards enhancing public spaces, and associated community and visitor experiences within the Inner West.