Alumna turns heads with Snickel Lane mural

The artwork was painted by Izzy Hey, who graduated in May with a Master of Fine Arts and is the latest winner of the Snickel Lane Urban Art Award.

The mural, painted in soft bright colours, features a number of references to the surrounding cityscape, as well as a huge spider.

“As I sat down to do the drawing and couldn't quite figure out where to start, a spider walked across my piece of paper, so I started drawing that,” Izzy says.

Painted over a period of three weeks in January, Izzy says the mural, which started off as a small sketch drawn in her bedroom, is by far the biggest piece of art she’s ever made.

And while the finished work has been turning heads in Snickel Lane, the painting also attracted attention while Izzy was working on it – with dozens of tourists and passers-by stopping to look and comment.

Izzy says that although creating such a large and public artwork was a daunting prospect at first, the experience was hugely valuable and has given her the confidence to know she could do it again. And though there are no plans to create more public artworks on the horizon for the time being she says “there definitely will be something in the future”.

The mural was made possible thanks to philanthropic support from Snickel Lane’s owner Argosy Property. Warren Cate, the company’s asset manager, says supporting local art is in line with Argosy Property’s vision of engaging with the community in which the building operates – something Izzy says is hugely appreciated.

“Just having people that are putting up money and supporting the arts, that's super valuable for someone like me,” she says.