Mural champions local music

WITH the Medieval to Metal exhibition currently fostering an appreciation for music, the guitar and live performance, the City of Ballarat is complementing the show with the Annexe Wall’s latest mural.

Located at Alfred Deakin Place adjacent to the Art Gallery of Ballarat, the new work was launched last week and was created by local artist Joel Hammonds.

While the nearby exhibition, with its 40 stringed instruments courtesy of the National Guitar Museum in the US, celebrates music and its makers on a global scale, the new public art piece shifts the focus to a local perspective.

“The inspiration for the colours of my mural came from lighting in smaller live music venues across Ballarat, and the live music shots all come from my own band,” Hammonds said.

“My goal for this piece is to create a collection of visual cues that can take the viewer back to a moment where music has etched itself into their lives, great nights out, celebrations, shared experiences that create lifelong connections.

“I want people to notice something new every time they walk past, building on the connection and the experience.”

Ballarat’s iconic live music venues Volta, The Eastern, and Civic Hall are featured in the work while the guitar player mural piece emblazoned on Crossroads Music’s former Skipton Street storefront has also been replicated.

The work also nods at local rock and metal acts Otrera, and Nicholas Cage Fighter.

Hammonds, himself a musician, painted his own guitar clad with Ballarat-specific stickers into the bottom left of the piece, with the aim of presenting an intimate insight into the region’s live music scene.

Commissions for the Annexe Wall are installed on a temporary basis, and City of Ballarat mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves said the new mural is a great nod to Ballarat’s music-making community.

“There are more than 120 pieces of public art placed throughout our city and surrounds to enjoy,” she said.

“The Art Gallery Annexe Wall is a great public art asset that constantly evolves.

“The latest instalment at the Annexe Wall is an inspiring nod to Ballarat’s live music scene and to the acclaimed Medieval to Metal exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.”