Josh Kennedy mural: Surry Hills street art planned by Apparition Media draws mixed response

Plans to immortalise a retiring Sydney AFL player with an inner city mural has divided opinions, with some critics labelling the planned artwork’s look as ‘aggressive’, ‘narcissistic’ and as ‘big as King Kong’.

Plans to immortalise a top Sydney AFL player in a street mural at Surry Hills has divided opinions among residents, with critics labelling the artwork’s look as “aggressive”, “narcissistic” and as “big as King Kong”.

The design team behind a new mural of retiring Sydney Swans star Josh Kennedy have jumped to the defence of the project following a string of submissions calling for the City of Sydney to stop the proposal in its tracks.

The handpainted mural of the former Swans co-captain would cover the entire blank wall of a two-storey terrace building at 1 Richards Ave, facing on to Foveaux St.

The 3m artwork is planned by Melbourne-based media and advertising firm Apparition Media – the same company behind a list of other prominent artworks including the Adam Goodes mural, also located in Surry Hills.

Apparition Media, in its plans, said the mural would pay tribute to Kennedy’s celebrated career as a professional AFL player.

A concept plan of the mural.

Feedback on the plan has proven mixed with opponents taking umbrage with the sports-themed nature of the design which many feel doesn’t suit the character of the inner city suburb.

John Spatchurst, who has lived in Surry Hills since 1981, believed the artwork could dominate the local landscape.

The mural would recognise Josh Kennedy’s AFL career.

“I think the idea of having football to start with is problematic, there are people who are passionate about it but not everyone is,” he said. “I personally don’t follow football, and have no idea who Josh Kennedy is.

“We have just been presented with a new oversized stadium at one end of Surry Hills which is like a huge burnt bagel stack on public land, at the other end we have the oversized Adam Goodes mural and now we have another one.

“As far as I can see he has that typical aggressive look that footballers have which is a very narcissistic sort of screaming and shouting facial expression and pose which is just very unpleasant.

“It’s halfway between two public schools and it sends the wrong message to young children who’ll pass it everyday.

A concept plan of the Josh Kennedy mural.

“The actual size of it is also huge and it’s out of scale with the building itself. It looks like King Kong and imposes a gigantism which isn’t suitable for domestic buildings.”

Similar concerns were raised by resident John Avery who said the “concept of street art seems to have been adopted and taken over by commercial interests”.

“We don’t need another oversized portrait of another sportsperson. It is not in my view street art,” he said.

Apparition Media owner Tristan Minter said he was surprised by the criticism levelled at the design.

He said the mural’s primary intention was to honour Kennedy’s career which includes leading the Swans to back-to-back finals campaigns in 2017 and 2018 and claiming the Bob Skilton Medal three times as the club’s best and fairest player.

“It’s in a similar vein as the Adam Goodes mural on Foveaux St which has had a universally positive response from everyone so it surprises me there are concerns about this one,” he said.

Apparition Media also created the Adam Goodes mural in Surry Hills.

“It was just an idea we had because we had such a good response to Adam Goodes we thought why not try it again and we had a relationship with the owner of the building who’s allowing us to create it.

“People will always have opinions and we’re happy to take any comments on board.”

Apparition Media, in plans to the City of Sydney, said the mural was in line with council policies which encourage street art and would “create a point of visual interest”.

Not all locals were opposed with resident Trevor Hall in a submission describing it as “a nice bright addition to the wall”.

The mural would honour Josh Kennedy’s sporting career.

“Josh has been a great role model to many people in Sydney and should be celebrated,” he said.

Other residents called the art work to instead reflect the character of Surry Hills including its “many art galleries, antique dealers, cafes and pubs, fashion and rag trade outlets”.

“Sure Josh Kennedy has had an illustrious career, but so have many other people in a wide range of professions that never receive the accolades sports stars do,” Alexa Wyatt said.

“There must be dozens of Surry Hills residents who have made their mark on history. Do we need another footballer celebrated?”

A Sydney Swans spokeswoman said the mural would honour Kennedy’s career.

“The mural is a wonderful tribute to a player who will go down as one of the all-time greats of the Sydney Swans,” she said.

“Josh Kennedy is a champion of the game as well as a quality leader and person, so when we were approached about the mural, we were supportive of the concept.”

The proposal is currently under assessment by the City of Sydney and if approved is expected to take three to five days to complete.