‘Community-based’ Mona Vale artwork unveiled
New life has been breathed into the iconic wave mural on the corner of Pittwater Road and Mona Vale Road, thanks to the work of local artist Patrick Hunter.
Patrick, known also by his moniker Ink Hunter, was commissioned by Pittwater- based construction and renovations company Spannenberg & Son to revitalise the local landmark, which occupies a side wall of the business’ new office space.
The feature wall in Mona Vale has been home to depictions of waves for decades, the first appearing in the 1980s before being revamped by previous owner Quicksilver.
The surf shop’s oaky-brown rendition has now been redesigned to reflect Patrick’s signature ‘bright, funky, contemporary, edgy and abstract’ artistic style.
“It’s been a pretty nostalgic wall for a lot of people for a long time. So, it was really cool being a local artist painting it one more time,” Patrick tells Peninsula Living.
“It was almost like a restoration-style concept, to keep with the tradition of the art that’s been there for a really long time. Paying homage to the space and the wall and the community [by] doing something that resonates with what’s been there for such a long time.”
As a proud Beaches-based artist, Patrick says creating the mural was a fantastic opportunity to work closely with local businesses Spannenberg & Son and Colormaker Industries – who provided the paint for the impressive artwork.
“They [Spannenberg & Sons] had the foresight to keep it community-based and community-focused, which I think is really, really nice,” Patrick explains.
“Their thinking was to re-create that nostalgic feeling and what everyone already loves so much about this iconic landmark.
“People use the artwork as almost a finding spot or a meeting spot, so hopefully we can keep that as a really nice placemaking location for the community.”
The mural is located at 1729 Pittwater Road, Mona Vale and was officially unveiled late last month.