If you’ve happened to wander past the Semaphore esplanade over the last couple of weeks, you might have noticed some bright oranges, blues and greens pulling your eye away from the typical coastal colours of the Palais Hotel and Semaphore beach.
A recent collaboration between Adelaide-born artist, Alex Bellas, and Street Art Collective, Blank Walls, are to thank for this injection of colour, utilising the blank walls of the Palais as an opportunity to transform your beach walks from a coastal stroll into a gallery visit.
On a mission to turn “public spaces into places people want to work, live and experience”, this latest collaboration features larger-than-life coastal icons painted in scrumptious pastels that feel like you’re enjoying a beachside gelato. Glam Adelaide chatted with the lady behind the brush – Alex Bellas – about what it took to bring her latest work to life.
“We really wanted to jazz [the area] up a bit and put a bit of flavour in there. We splashed as much colour and good memories into it as we could.”
“It’s just really nice to do a really bright and fun piece, you know, just not to overthink it. I think that’s really important sometimes when doing art in public spaces. It’s really easy to overthink whether it needs to have a meaning to it or some kind of cause. But I think sometimes it’s just really nice to paint something fun on a wall and let people enjoy it.”
The community seem to agree. Alex describes how the community response has been overwhelmingly positive – but not just from the finished project.
“Everyone really enjoys seeing the process – being able to come back each day and see what else has been added. There was a lot of engagement with kids coming past and seeing, or trying to guess, what was going to be in each square. Yeah, it was really sweet.”
The project was facilitated by Blank Walls, a Perth-based Street Art collective that have produced artwork and collaborations all across the globe, and as Alex put it, “are really flying”. But it’s not their first rodeo together.
“I’ve actually done a handful of projects with them, including some where they’ve flown down from Perth to paint here with me…They’re the ones that put me forward for this project.”
“They’re a really incredible mural agency – they really champion the arts.”
Having collaborated with some of the world’s biggest brands – including Nike, Formula 1, the NBA, and Tottenham Hotspur – Blank Walls is a true Australian success story. The company was founded by Perth artist Jerome Davenport, whose background in live theatre gave him the mindset of turning “any medium into a canvas.” Despite being born partially colour-blind, his talent was undeniable, and he set out to leave “colourful interpretations of the world on blank walls around the globe,” quickly becoming one of the most sought-after muralists in Australia.
Through a chance meeting with London producer, Alex Harvey, and his old friend, project manager Will Clark, Blank Walls was soon born, now operating out of London and Perth.
This artist-led collective collaborates with leading creatives to transform urban spaces into living, breathing artefacts of our culture and the people who shape it. A glance at their website, which showcases an ambitious and extraordinarily diverse range of projects, feels frankly quite powerful. Their work injects authenticity and new life into our cities, creating arresting art where the human touch is unmistakable; something we may once have taken for granted, but which now feels more meaningful than ever.
To experience an artwork being created from beginning to end – to see the artist behind the brush, the paint on their pants that will never come out, the forklift lifting them up and down, the retouches and redos, the outlines that are later filled in – feels like a live performance artwork in itself. It stands as a beautiful ode to what it means to exist and truly live within our shared spaces.
We hope this is just the beginning of many more projects to come in Adelaide for Blank Walls and Alex Bellas.
To see more of Alex’s work, click here.
To see more of Blank Wall’s work, click here.
To see the Palais’ fresh new mural, click here.
