20 August 2020

Keep Canberra Beautiful

| Icon Water
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Narrabundah Reservoir

Narrabundah Reservoir on Hindmarsh Drive. Photo: Supplied.

Those who are long time Canberra locals will have witnessed the many changes this city has gone through. What once felt like a country town has now turned into a bustling city. The one thing that has remained a constant is Canberra’s natural beauty.

‘Keep Australia Beautiful Week’, which runs from 17 to 23 August, is encouraging all Australians to care for their community and the local environment and there are some pretty amazing things happening to keep our bush capital looking beautiful.

Icon Water has been working with artists including Geoff Filmer of Graffik Paint to turn their water and sewerage assets into art.

So far, Geoff has painted 19 Icon Water sites to feature a stunning array of native plants and animals. The captivating murals have been created freehand, using spray paint which is designed to withstand the harsh environment. Geoff didn’t use a template, painting the flora and fauna ‘where he felt they should go.’

The artwork is giving life and a splash of colour to infrastructure that has typically been aesthetically bland in comparison to its surrounds.

“We wanted to do something that felt like it was natural sitting in its environment,” Geoff said.

The murals have also been designed to deter vandalism, an issue has been a constant concern for Icon Water and an eyesore for locals.

“The idea behind this work is to discourage vandalism and graffiti on Canberra’s water and sewerage assets,” Geoff explained.

If you live in Canberra, it is very likely that you may have seen Geoff’s murals before. His work is all over the city, including the Erindale bus station, Dickson pool, Moore and Bund streets in the city, Floriade and even pipes on the cotter dam.

Geoff says being able to turn something as plain as utility sites into public art is a fantastic thing.

“I love creating wonderful, visual things for people to enjoy around our city. It’s about giving art and making people happy. The amount of people tooting their horns as they drive past has been amazing.”

Geoff and Icon Water have combined forces to keep Canberra looking beautiful.

Have you seen the Icon Water murals around Canberra? Have you found all 19? To help you out, Icon Water has created an interactive map listing all the mural sites. You can find the map on the Icon Water website.

If you do see a mural around town, make sure to take a picture and tag @iconwater.

Fadden Water Pump Station

Fadden Water Pump Station. Photo: Supplied.

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Beautiful work Geoff and Icon Water. More painting like this please and less piles of scrap metal around the city masquerading as public art. At last Canberra has one artist with real talent.

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