Overview
Award-winning street artist and muralist Matt Adnate has added a big dose of colour to Clovelly Beach with the creation of a vibrant new mural at the swimming hole's surf club. Depicting surf life savers in action — and Clovelly's most beloved resident, the iconic blue groper — the expansive public artwork now adorns the north wall of the Clovelly Surf Life Saving Club, facing out onto the water.
One of Sydney's most beloved swim spots, Clovelly is known for its myriad of underwater life and its concrete sunbathing areas. The latest edition to this eastern suburbs hub comes courtesy of Dulux, who commissioned the mural to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its partnership with Surf Life Saving Australia.
Beachgoers will notice that a can of Dulux paint and the old English sheepdog synonymous with the brand also make appearances on the mural, alongside the surf life savers and local sea life. Across the last decade, Dulux has donated over 40,000 litres of paint to more than 250 surf life-saving clubs across Australia.
Several surf clubs were considered for the mural, but it ended up on the walls at Clovelly due to its longstanding role in the community — with the club established over a century ago in 1906 — and its iconic look.
The artist behind the work, Matt Adnate, has created larger-than-life public artworks around Australia including the Southern Hemisphere's tallest mural at a Collingwood public housing block. He also created the ARIA-award-winning cover art for Baker Boy's acclaimed debut album Gela.
Adnate's Clovelly Beach mural is now complete, so anyone heading out to the beaches for a swim or a cliff walk this weekend (or in the near future, once this rain stops) should drop into Clovelly to check out its new dose of public art.
Clovelly Surf Life Saving Club is located at Bundock Park, Donellan Circuit, Clovelly.
Images: Enzo Amato.