BACK: Homeowners Matt Drew and Leanne Bishop. FRONT: Fremantle mural artist Joe Boin.
Camera IconBACK: Homeowners Matt Drew and Leanne Bishop. FRONT: Fremantle mural artist Joe Boin. Credit: Supplied/David Baylis

Mural at Berwick St pays homage to building history

Nadia BudihardjoSouthern Gazette

FROM a deli, to a fish and chip shop and a residential house, a 1930 building in Victoria Park is now the canvas of a 6×6 metre mural by a Fremantle artist.

Fremantle mural artist Joe Boin finished the mural of an octopus and a diver on Berwick Street on Monday last week after four days of working with aerosol paints.

Homeowners Matt Drew and Leanne Bishop moved in 11 years ago and found out it was a green grocer from old postal records.

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Their elderly neighbours informed them the building later became a fish and chips shop.

Mr Drew said the mural was a homage to the history of the building in addition to their personal interests.

“We’re both into art, we’re both into water sports and both into diving and fishing,” he said.

Mr Boin said the details included Ms Bishop’s campaign for no plastic bags, the homeowners’ interest as divers and the building history as a fish and chips shop.

“I’ve done plenty of octopuses before but the fun part was adding the extra little bits – the Rubik’s cube, the little message on pollution because it wasn’t in the original design,” he said.

“It adds their personal touch, their own artistic input in the mural.”

Mr Boin said this was the first time he painted the whole front of a house and in a high-traffic area.

“It’s cool to bring that to an inner-city suburb that is distant from the sea, it’s like bringing the sea in,” he said.

“I got lots of beeps from passing cars, thumbs up and photos on social media.”

Ms Bishop said they needed to get council approval for the mural and the process drew in the neighbourhood in a positive way.

“We’ve met neighbours we haven’t met before, we’ve had random people posting on instagram,” she said.

Anyone with photos of the original deli or the fish and chips shop, please scan and send to southerngazette@communitynews.com.au