That’s a wrap! After more than a month of painting, global street artist Sam Bates aka Smug, has completed his monumental silo artwork in Kapunda, and the locals couldn’t be prouder.
“It’s a mixture of elation with the final result and relief that it’s been accepted and loved by so many already,” says Danny Menzel a local artist and member of the Kapunda Mural Committee.
“Everyone in Kapunda just loves it. It’s really satisfying seeing all the hard work pay off.”
The 30-metre-high artwork took four and a half weeks to complete.
“It’s quite amazing to think it took Sam just over a month to paint something that’s going to be there for 20 or 30 years,” Danny says.
The mural, which has already drawn hundreds of visitors, depicts a miner standing in a tunnel with a candle attached to his helmet, holding a piece of copper and looking out toward the town.
“The scene is a mine tunnel where the main focus is the miner, and to the left you see the opening of the tunnel that reveals the open cut area of the mine,” Danny explains.
“When you look at it up close, it gives you a 3D effect, like you’re looking through the tunnel — it’s quite amazing to pull off.”
Danny says the community’s reaction has been overwhelmingly emotional.
“Quite a few people have said it’s been emotional seeing it all come together,” he says.
“When he first started, people couldn’t work out what it was. They were guessing. Is that a horse, or is that Sidney Kidman? But Sam does that on purpose. The detail only comes together in the final week, and then suddenly, it reveals itself.”
For the Kapunda Mural Committee, which formed in 2017, this project marks the culmination of years of dedication. The group has already completed 16 murals across town, mostly by local artists.
“We’ve probably arranged about 15 or 16 murals, and we’ve won a couple of national awards,” Danny says.
“All that work helped us get to the stage where we could look at getting our silo painted.”
Securing Smug was something of a mission.
“I’d been chasing him for a couple of years,” Danny admits.
“Stalking might be the right word. I was even considering doing it myself asI am an artist too. But after looking at his work, there was no way. It’s a completely different technique. Even drawing it up at that scale takes an incredible amount of skill.”
During his time in Kapunda, Smug became a familiar face around town.
“He didn’t have a car, so he walked from the main street every day and would see and wave to people along the way,” Danny says.
“He was really receptive and spoke to people who came to watch him work.”
Already, the mural is proving a major tourism drawcard.
“There would have been a thousand people coming along while he was painting,” Danny says. “People were travelling from all over Australia. There’s a whole group of people who drive around visiting silo art, and Sam has a bit of a fan club. This makes Kapunda a real destination.”
As the closest painted silo to Adelaide, it’s expected to become a major landmark for the region.
“We’re only an hour from Adelaide, so people can easily come up for a day trip,” Danny says.
“Hopefully they stop at the bakery, visit the pubs and coffee shops, and support local businesses.”
The committee is already looking ahead to what’s next.
“We’d love to install lighting on the silo to highlight the miner’s face, because that would look spectacular at night,” Danny says.
“There are also steel silos nearby that we might look at painting in future, and we’re working on a new mural about Sidney Kidman for the main street. We try to create one new mural every year.”
Kapunda silo art
Where: Hancock Road, Kapunda
For updates, visit the Facebook page here.
Find the Kapunda Mural Town website here.
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