Murals and public art

Dinosaur Bird

To celebrate International Cassowary Day on 26 September 2022, the Metro Tunnel Creative Program invited me to create a 3.6-metre-tall artwork in Scott Alley, Melbourne.

Bird Count mural

During 2021, I partnered with Deer Park North primary school via the Creative Workers in Schools Program. In a true STEAM partnership, I was based in the science room with Ms Lodkowski where students were doing the Birdlife Australia Birds in Schools program. Students learnt about birds in the local area, conducted a “bird count” on the school grounds, and then created collage birds with me in small workshops. To conclude the project we created a mural featuring the top bird species counted by students. The student’s collage artworks were used as the basis for this design.

Mural at Deer Park North Primary School, Birds in Schools, Sarah Allen — 2021 Bird Count mural. Deer Park North Primary School, hand painted, 8 m x 2.5 m

Student lobby mural

Highlighting threatened species is central to my work, so I was thrilled when Working Images commissioned me to create a mural for a student lobby in a primary school in Sydney. The design features local threatened species: the green and golden bell frog, eastern long-necked turtle, eastern water dragon, long-nosed bandicoot, varied sitella, powerful owl and the white-striped free-tailed bat.

2022 Threatened species mural, 4.6 m x 2.7 m. Digitally printed.

Laneway Gallery exhibition

Beaks of the Bay was a temporary exhibition of four digitally printed billboards featuring birds local to Hobsons Bay: Orange-bellied parrots, pelicans, rainbow lorikeets and Australian magpies.

Orange-bellied parrots in flight. Billboard at Woods Street Gallery, Laverton. — 2022 Orange-bellied parrots, Beaks of the Bay, Woods Street Arts Space, Laverton, Hobsons Bay City Council. Digitally printed.

Hello Hakea mural, West Footscray

In 2019, City of Maribyrnong commissioned me as part of the Street Works program. REX Hairdressing business owner, Andy Browse, was keen to have a botanical-themed mural extend from the shop front to the large 6 m x 3 m side wall on Elphinstone Street. The central motif in the design is a stylised hakea ulicina, a plant local to the western volcanic plains.

2019 Hello Hakea mural at REX Hairdressing, 640 Barkly St West Footscray, City of Maribrynong Street Works program.

The mural has brightened up a very dull corner of the village neighbourhood. It has also been good for business. REX Hairdressing uses the mural as a backdrop for its social media posts.