Street art in Haymarket

Hunt down some of Sydney's hidden art.
Melanie Colwell and Kara Jensen-Mackinnon
Published on January 17, 2017

Overview

Thanks to its rabbit-warren of malls, markets, eateries and bars, Haymarket is usually more synonymous with buzz than beauty. But if you have a moment to pause and look-up (making sure you're not in the way of the crowds), there a few hidden artistic gems to be found.

Jason Wing's In Between Two Worlds spans across Factory Street, Hay Street and Kimber Lane in Haymarket. The beguiling work references both Indigenous and Chinese motifs for wind, water, fire and earth, which are believed to each have their own spirits. By day, you'll spot the cloud murals painted on the floor and silver otherworldly figures suspended in the sky. Be sure to return in the evening — perhaps en route to a Chinatown dumpling feast — and witness those once silvery figures glowing blue in all their neon glory.

On the corners of Hay and Sussex Street sits Golden Water Mouth, seen as the symbolic entrance to Chinatown. The sculpture is a eucalyptus tree covered in gold leaf; a positive fusion of natural materials within the urban environment.

Matt Adnate's portrait of Jenny Munro, Aboriginal elder and founder of the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy, is hard to miss. It can be found, in all its six-storey glory, on a building on the corner of Harbour and Golbourn streets.

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