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6 Comments

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1. I really don’t see much difference between the original proposal and this.

   We just don’t need another large mural of a footballer adorning our streets.

   And it is in a very dominant position and it is “in your face”.

   Thanks

2. What is the difference from the last time this was submitted and declined ? That it is hand painted?

3. What is this continuing obsession to fill blank walls in our city? Are we so deprived of stimulation that every blank space must be filled with visual content? Moreover, with gigantic images of footballers? Whilst the inclusion of the impressive Indigenous art renders this version less of an overt advertisement than the previous iteration so clearly was, nevertheless why do we need this at all? There are already 2 other giant murals of male footballers along the walking route from Central to the stadium. Celebrating the achievements of Indigenous people is to be applauded, but that achievement comes in many forms other than football, and other than male. Where are the Indigenous women being celebrated with massive murals? Must the corridor between Central and the stadium only be filled with celebrations of men playing football? Why are they the only people deserving of this public accolade? So many other people, so many women, who are not sports players, deserve equal recognition. There is simply no justification for perpetuating and glorifying male sporting achievement. It's well overdue to balance the scales. Suffice to say I object yet again to this DA.

4. This application is chockers with cynical and disingenuous nonsense. We are being asked to believe that a resizing and adding indigenous symbols to the proposal now “proves” this is something else than what it is - highly visible advertising signage.

   The saddest thing to me in this saga is it seems the Swans fully support this appropriation by stealth of the Foveaux Street corridor from Central Station to the Stadium. And they are prepared to use whatever means is necessary. Sorry.. what’s this neighbourhood again? Surry something? Could be Stanmore, St. Leonard’s or St. Mary’s. It doesn’t actually matter as the suburb and its denizens is not what this is about.

   The Adam Goodes image (cnr Foveux and Crown) was the first one. We locals thought it was a genuine celebrated of him, and local people were sympathetic and supportive for a range of reasons. A still, thoughtful pose of a man moving into retirement after a tumultuous time. No AFL and Swans paraphernalia. Just a reflective looking Goodes with just a touch of red around the collar.

   But no, sadly. The Goodsie mural turned out to be just the front runner: a Trojan horse of sorts. Bigger plans were in motion. Lo and behold, between Crown and Bourke streets on Foveaux what should pop up last year but another Sydney Swans player- this time in full roaring man-of-the-moment mode: Josh Kennedy. Nothing reflective, indigenous or topical. Just an AFL Sydney Swans player engaged in his game. So… we begin to understand: this is about advertising the Sydney Swans and AFL.

   Now surprise, surprise- another is fighting for space on the corridor.

   Here we have a proposal for another advertisement of AFL and the Sydney Swans: Buddy Franklin. Rejected by Council, it’s now been modified: resized, made more “joy, exhilaration and determination” (seriously!!!??) and adorned with indigenous symbols…. because? Because these are perceived as a way to get past the many objections. My oh my, how cynical and persistent the demand for this advertising space along Foveux Street has become. Buddy, in full flight as a Swans player … but … we’re supposed to feel okay now because he’s a great First Nations bloke and a high achiever and we are being reminded of that with an eye full of symbols? Or we should feel bad about opposing the advertising because of these very same reasons??? No, we shouldn’t. Put these thoughts aside. It’s just a cynical approach to getting advertising on the wall.

   But let’s step back…..

   What’s are the common themes here ? What is being celebrated? It’s not race (not all are indigenous) it’s not sport in general (no soccer, NRL, basketball etc), not sportspeople in general (no women) and it certainly has nothing to do with Surry Hills. it’s not anything else but exactly what it looks like:

   ****** advertising for the Sydney Swans and AFL *****

   So, stop these ridiculous claims of ‘mural art’. It’s advertising. Even the submission doesn’t hide it: Check the title of the Elevation artwork … it’s described by the applicant as “Proposed Advertising Signage”.

   This is advertising by stealth. And if the origins of this idea rest with the Swans, then since their move into the RHI, they are now proving to be imposing and inconsiderate neighbours indeed. They do seem to think being adorned over the walls of our neighbourhood is a terrific idea - see their Twitter feed.

   City of Sydney - if this trend is allowed to continue where will this end? Will we have streets full of NRL and Rabbitoh advertising? More big blokes roaring from every corner? Please… stop… this… now.

   This submission will be forwarded to the Lord Mayor Clover Moore and the Sydney Swans for comment.

5. I wholeheartedly support the previous responses to this revised DA. However, it raises the question as to what is suitable for the Surry Hills area and what is appropriate to make Surry Hills a richer environment for all of us.

   'Street art' or 'public art' as defined by the City Council is obviously failing as the Council has already approved two 'Swan murals' which are clearly out of scale with the built form and the heritage conservation area.

   Public art should have the support of the community not something that is imposed on it by outside interests. A mural by Sonia van de Haar on a similar site in Newtown was designed to 'echo the shapes and colours of the inner-city suburb', this is exactly how it should be.

   An understanding of the fine grained and textured streetscape of Victorian Surry Hills needs to be the starting point of any proposed artwork.

   We are already blighted by unnecessary advertising pylons and the moving billboard that the light rail now presents. Advertising disguised as 'public art' should not define our neighbourhood and should therefore be prohibited.

6. This is another application by a stealth marketing company to use our built environment as advertising for a massive corporation. While the inclusion of First Nations imagery is an improvement, the suggested image falls far short of the suggestions made by local residents when the last application went in. It's still a hyper-masculine image and has nothing to do with our area. The feelings of the local community should be better reflected and the two murals that have already gone up should be reviewed and potentially removed. They are visual pollution.

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