Smug One’s silo mural highlights Kapunda’s copper mining past
Kapunda has added a striking new landmark to its cultural landscape, with acclaimed muralist Smug One unveiling his latest work of art. See the pictures.
Produced and curated by renowned street art collective Juddy Roller, a flagship landmark artwork now towers 30 metres above the ground and is a celebration of the town’s deeply rooted history of neighbourly camaraderie.
After more than five weeks of painting through rain, hail, and shine, Smug One’s mural is an ode to the region’s copper miners of the 1840s, giving viewers a glimpse of the harsh conditions miners faced.
“This project has always been about more than paint on concrete,” Kapunda Silo Art Committee chair Danny Taylor said.
“It’s about what can happen when a small town comes together with a shared vision. For us, the silos are a message to every visitor that Kapunda is alive with creativity, history, and heart.”
Light Regional Council Mayor Bill Close said the mural, completed on October 27 and commissioned in March, represented a defining moment for Kapunda’s artistic and cultural identity.
“I was blown away when I first saw it, the attention to detail was astounding, right down to the eyelashes,” he said.
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“As you drive into the township, it hits you from different viewpoints. It’s something really special.”
He claimed Kapunda always had a reputation “for being an artsy town”.
“This mural reinforces that identity and reminds visitors that this place has played a huge role in stabilising South Australia’s history and spirit,” Close said.
It took two years for local residents to raise the $50,000 in funds with Close saying volunteers spent countless hours on bake sales, sponsorship drives and securing grants so they could bring the artwork to life.
According to Shaun Hossack, Creative Director of Juddy Roller, the project represented a new era in regional storytelling, as the silos acted as a metaphor for the character of the community it looks down upon.
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He said the art piece was attracting national attention and its artist, Sam Bates, alias Smug One, was internationally renowned for his techniques that blend photorealistic precision with warmth and narrative depth, what he calls ‘stylised realism.’
A pioneer of country’s Silo Art movement, Smug One has painted nine silos Australia-wide, including landmark works in Lameroo in the Mallee, Wirrabara in the Southern Flinders Ranges, and Rupanyup in rural Victoria.
“These silos aren’t just forgotten symbols of the past,” Smug said.
“They’re beacons of hope, visible for miles. I want each one to feel alive and reflect the character of the community that surrounds it.”
Juddy Roller, the creative minds behind the project, specialise in eye-popping, large-scale murals and public art curation projects.
The studio created Australia’s first Silo Art Trail, that includes South Australian landmarks.
Kapunda itself is home to an ever-growing collection of murals, sculptures, and public artworks, in a bid to make it a must-visit destination for art lovers and travellers.
Juddy Roller said Smug’s latest work was designed to anchor the town’s creative identity, reinforce its role on the Silo Art Trail and to welcome visitors to the Barossa region’s food, wine, and cultural experiences.
