These works are licensed by the City of Sydney for use on construction hoardings. If you’re a developer or builder, read about using these images on your hoardings.
Published 8 October 2018, updated 6 January 2023
Creative hoardings: street art of a different kind
Discover the art and artists brightening up Sydney’s construction sites.
Poly Ubiquitous, Cynthia Schwertsik
“I hope this artwork brings awareness to the next piece of plastic we hold in our hand before it becomes garbage,” says the Adelaide-based artist.
The brightly coloured images appear abstract at first. But on a closer look, you’ll realise they are plastic shopping bags adrift in the sea.
Birds of Australia, Eggpicnic
These feathered friends reflect our incredible Australian birdlife but some are facing extinction.
“Birds of Australia aims to open the hearts and minds of the public to understanding and recognising the problems facing our vulnerable wildlife,” say Camila De Gregorio and Christopher Macaluso of Eggpicnic.
Children Very Upset, Edwin Budhi
This Sydney photographer has collected a collage of real-life lost animal signs and stories from across Sydney. For him, it’s a story of hope, loss, family and life in the city.
Titbit: all the owners of the pets still at large are very keen for this artwork to be used.
A Song From Nature, Danling Xiao (Mundane Matters)
Danling Xiao has built a sizeable Instagram with her conceptual sculptures made from food scraps.
She hopes her work, featuring everyday objects, inspires people to smile and consider how we can reduce food waste. Reduce, reuse, recycle is this artist’s motto.
Real Myth, Captain Pipe
Captain Pipe is inspired by “animal noises and weird plants”, so it makes sense that his work features bizarre creatures in playful, hypercolour situations.
Each character builds their own story in the work pictured, which combines into a continuous mural.
Obstacle Course, Elliot Bryce Foulkes
Ask Elliot Bryce Foulkes to describe his dream project and he’ll tell you he’d like to make a mathematics textbook.
Obstacle Course references an individual’s experience when navigating the city. Each element in the work represents Sydney, from existing infrastructure to ongoing development, giving us a deceptively simple and abstract look at our city.
Sydney Opera House at Night, Emily Crockford
A vibrant colour palette and bold strokes give us a fresh view of this postcard location, thanks to emerging artist Emily Crockford from Studio A. Look for how the delicate patterning pays homage to the intricate tile patterns of the world’s most famous sails.
Studio A provides support for artists living with intellectual disability.
The Terminal Face of the Perito Moreno Glacier, Timothy Harland
Photographer Timothy Harland’s awe-inspiring panorama shows the grandeur of the famous Perito Moreno glacier in Patagonia. It’s made up of more than 50 different shots taken while travelling in a boat parallel to the glacier.
Of the vision behind his work, he says “we can’t save what we don’t know or can’t imagine”.
Stone Jewels, Fiona Currey
“I find it awe inspiring that someone made these exceptional objects by hand so long ago,” says Fiona Currey of the beautiful and impressive stone tools featured in her illustrations.
The striking colour palette was derived from the diverse materials from which these tools were crafted, particularly glass.
Double-Take, Rachel Harris
Look, and then look again. Should that selfie stick be in that historical snap? Rachel Harris has altered images from the City of Sydney’s archives to create a playful juxtaposition between the now and then.
“I like to make work that questions our perceptions and makes us look closer at our environs,” she says.
