Emerging in the late 20th century, contemporary street art embraced the idea that art belongs in everyday life, not only in galleries, but on streets, walls and vast industrial structures.
In the back streets of Renewal SA’s Tonsley Innovation District that idea is coming to life.
A once plain, practical piece of infrastructure is being reimagined as a canvas for vibrant colour, intricate brushwork and a story of place that spans tens of thousands of years.
Acclaimed street artist Mitch Walder, whose catalogue of work features across Adelaide and Melbourne, has been commissioned to transform 85 square metres of grey concrete retaining wall on MAB Circuit.
Mitch has been given the space and creative freedom to bring the wall to life, with one condition: the work must reference the area’s past.
The mural unfolds as an artistic timeline beginning with the deep cultural roots of the Kaurna people then moving through farming, the rise of car manufacturing and into today – a time defined by new technology and innovation.
Currently unnamed, the piece is taking shape throughout November. It unfolds layer by layer with fluorescent undercoats, chalk outlines and bold green linework.
Mitch works alone, supported only by traffic management signage as he paints close to the road. Dressed in bright orange high vis flecked with yellow and green paint, he almost blends into the mural behind him.
Mitch Walder has been commissioned to transform 85 square metres of grey concrete retaining all at Tonsley Innovation District into an art piece representing the sites history.
The wall itself comprises 215 individual sleepers stacked as high as three metres and as low as 50 centimetres across a 60-metre stretch along the district’s perimeter.
He appreciates the incline of his canvas drawing inspiration from Paul Kelly and Kev Carmondy’s anthem From Little Things Big Things Grow which, like his art, speaks to recognition and respect for Indigenous Australians.
“From the early beginnings of this land to now where it’s on the forefront of new technology, it’s a really interesting path and that sparked my inspiration to paint this” Mitch says.
Starting at the smallest section on the right the mural honours the first footsteps of the Kaurna people, who cultivated plants tens of thousands of years, before farming began under the Ragless family name in 1868.
The design rises to the left with clusters of drawings recalling a time when agriculture drove entrepreneurial growth for colonial landowners, with grapevines and almond trees covering the landscape.
From there, the art evolves into representations of car manufacturing at its peak before shifting to Tonsley’s future with a cartoon head gazing at the southern hemisphere, South Australia at its centre symbolising curiosity and innovation.
His style is “crazy and dynamic” with intricacies best appreciated from the car park across the road where the completed mural will be visible in full.
The mural will be complete in early December and can be seen on the southern edge of Tonsley Innovation District, along MAB Circuit.
It’s one of several pieces of visual art throughout the district, including the iconic geometric mural on the façade of the Tonsley Administration Building, visible from South Road, designed by Sam Songailo.