A road mural on Outram Street in West Perth has turned a previously boring old stretch of asphalt into something to slow down for…
Forage, a new large-scale artwork by Perth artist Sioux Tempestt, was installed directly into the road surface and extends West Perth Local’s Bee Scene Trail beyond the walls and laneways where it’s previously lived. Drawing on the native pollinators and flowering landscapes of nearby Kings Park — banksia, kangaroo paw, bottlebrush — the bold graphic composition was designed to work at multiple scales: readable at a glance from a moving car, but more rewarding the longer you spend with it on foot.
It’s the largest project West Perth Local has delivered under its Bee Scene program, which has been building an identity for the precinct through sculptures, murals, bee hotels and wildflower gardens since the trail’s early stages.
Forage was commissioned through Streets Alive, a $5 million State Government initiative funded by Main Roads Western Australia and delivered by Doing Co (formerly Town Team Movement). West Perth Local was one of seven community groups across the state to receive funding in the program’s second phase, with the project also supported by the City of Perth and WALGA.
Tempestt, who has worked across public art commissions for Perth’s transport infrastructure and local governments, designed Forage specifically for the road environment — balancing abstraction with enough recognition that it reads at speed without losing its detail up close.
“West Perth has a unique character, and public art can play an important role in strengthening that identity,” she says. “The aim was to create something that people remember — whether they’re walking through the area every day or simply passing by.”
“Projects like this only happen when communities work together,” Tempestt continues. “West Perth Local’s volunteers have invested an enormous amount of time and energy into strengthening the precinct and bringing projects like this to life, and it was genuinely inspiring to be part of that collective effort.”
The Streets Alive model is built on the idea that road infrastructure can do more than move traffic. Projects like this are designed to slow drivers down and make streets more engaging for people walking and cyclin, making the artwork itself a practical tool as much as a visual one.
Forage is now in place on Outram Street, West Perth.
Image Credit: Supplied/City of Perth