Public & street art
ART CUBE by Dallas Clark
Heffron Park Handball Court Mural
Artist Dallas Clark (proud Gadigal man) submitted the winning proposal for the installation of the ART CUBE mural on the walls of the Handball Court at Heffron Park he was assisted in painting the mural by Matthew “Melnunnie” Brettschneider (proud Wiradjuri & Ngiyampaa man).
Applicants were invited to engage with three themes including the history of the area, the local community and the tragic death of local graffiti artist Adam ‘Bingo’ King.
In 2003, a tragic accident took the young life of Adam King a talented and respected graffiti artist. He was believed to have been spraying a graffiti panel inside a train tunnel just before he was killed by a train near Crystal St, Petersham.
His grief-stricken friends created a mural in his memory on the back wall of the Bunnerong Gymnastics Centre in December 2013 to commemorate the unbearable loss of their friend. Twenty years have passed, and the Gymnastics Centre and mural have been demolished to make way for the new Heffron Sports Centre opened on 1 July 2023.
Art Cube is a Council commissioned mural which:
- commemorates the loss of graffiti artist Adam King
- offers a new opportunity to recognise the Aboriginal land and culture and
- celebrates the hip hop and graffiti art of more than 20 years ago
Dallas says of his work, ‘all three walls have been designed to work cohesively to form one large mural installation. The overall colour palette is based on the surrounding parklands and provides a contrast to the blue of the courts - making the work a large colour based and harmonious installation.’
The design cleverly refers to the colour scheme of the Heffron Centre and gives a nod to the green and red of the Rabbitohs. Dark brown lines are incorporated to work consistently with the large architectural metal structures on top of the walls and the darker green map of the Randwick area represents the community.
The focus of the northern wall is the remembrance of Adam King and includes a mandala in recognition of the original mural. The icons surrounding the portrait of Adam represent the things he loved - a spray can for his love of art and graffiti; his scotty dog; a drum kit for his love of drumming; and Coldplay and Promoe for his love of hip hop and music.
Dallas says, ‘the eastern and western faces are mirrored to indicate our ancient Aboriginal land and the modern fabric of Randwick City. The lighter green dots are indicative of the Aboriginal ownership and protection of the land, the importance of the coast to the local Aboriginal people and the many tribal groups and dialects spoken by traditional owners.’
Art Cube by Dallas Clark is located adjacent to the Heffron Park car park just north of the Heffron Centre for Sporting Excellence on Bunnerong Road Maroubra.
Local history walks
Discover the heritage and history of our city with a local history walk.
Randwick City Art Deco History Walks
Art Deco was a reaction to the organic and flowing forms of the Art Nouveau period and was characterised by a clean and minimalist style which encompassed everything from fashion and decorative arts to interior design and architecture.
Popular in the 1920s to 40s, Art Deco architecture contrasted starkly with the more ornate Victorian and Federation periods. Art Deco had a pure, no nonsense simplicity, and an uncluttered design style and has a timelessness which makes it still one of the most popular periods of design and architecture in our history. Art Deco pieces remain highly collectable.
As in greater Sydney, the 1920s-1940s saw an explosion of residential building activity in Randwick and Coogee, catering for the boom in population between the wars. Many of the blocks of flats (Gower-Galtees in Coogee Bay Road), shops (Belmore Road in Randwick) and public buildings of this era (Randwick Ritz Cinema), are examples of the Art Deco style. Art Deco architecture and objects reflected a time of unprecedented change in the world and its clean, geometric design was appealing to many in a world that would continue to rapidly change.
As part of our 2013 Picture Perfect Art Deco exhibition by our Local History librarians, we've produced two self-guided walking tours of Coogee and Randwick showcasing some of the beautiful architecture which dots the area. Click on the links below to download them to your phone or print them out for your own tour.