Retro Roots & Suburban Boots

Community ProjectsPublic ArtUrban ArtMurals
Written By Haylee Fieldes
A long underpass wall is completely covered in mural artwork. a large black car is parked at a dramatic angle; a flying grey Ugg boot with feathered white wings floats above. The artwork is framed with colorful abstract shapes

Retro Roots & Suburban Boots is Fieldey’s newest mural, a nostalgic love letter to the working-class charm of Perth’s northern suburbs from the 1970s through the 1990s. Painted in Craigie, where Fieldey first landed after moving to Perth, the artwork blends personal memories with stories gathered from the local community to create a lively portrait of suburban life.

At the centre of the design is a retro drive-in movie scene: a couple on date night, complete with a glorious mullet, Farrah Fawcett waves, a loyal Kelpie and a choc-milk on hand. It is a playful nod to classic car culture, iconic hairstyles and the everyday comforts like trusty Ugg boots that defined life in Craigie during that era.

The mural’s details were shaped by the community itself. Fieldey reached out to residents through local Facebook groups, inviting them to share their favourite stories from growing up in the area. Their memories, funny, heartfelt and wonderfully specific, inspired many of the mural’s elements, including home milk deliveries, horse-shoe rolls, the Binishell dome, black cockatoos and banksias, and even the infamous creepy clown swing. These slices of local history were woven throughout the composition so the artwork feels both deeply personal and unmistakably Craigie.

The mural was brought to life by a team of three artists over six days of painting. Together, they transformed the curved wall into a flowing visual narrative visible from both the freeway and the nearby carpark. A sweeping green line travels through the artwork, linking each vignette and symbolising both physical movement and intergenerational connection. The retro-inspired palette draws from Main Roads colour schemes for Hepburn to Whitfords and Whitfords to Ocean Reef, with an added hit of bold pink to freshen and unify the design.

True to its name, Retro Roots & Suburban Boots is not just a nostalgic throwback. It is a celebration of what gives the northern suburbs their character. Some things have changed, but many have not. Classic cars still roam, mullets are back and Ugg boots remain essential. The mural captures that enduring sense of place with humour, colour and heart.

Two smiling artists stand under a concrete bridge in front of the open tailgate of a white utility vehicle. Both wear clothing heavily coated with thick daubs of dried paint in yellow, white, and green.
A curved mural wall showing a detailed black cockatoo with a red cheek and spiky crest; a crate of glass milk bottles; a vintage white delivery truck with the word “milk” in red cursive on its side. Bright abstract shapes frame the realistic elements
A mural wraps around a curved retaining wall next to a pedestrian path. A large black-and-white portrait of a smiling dog on the far right; and two stylised busts of faceless figures. mint green shapes suggest plants or abstract patterns,
This full-span mural view under the bridge shows the entire car scene, featuring the black Ford Falcon GT flanked by surreal and playful elements. A large Ugg boot with white angel wings floats in the air behind the car
This image focuses on a close-up section of the mural featuring two stylised characters side by side. The left figure is a woman with long, voluminous hair. The man has a solid green face, a thick black moustache, and a long mullet
An artist wearing a high-vis orange vest stands beside a nearly finished mural panel. A large black sedan is painted mid-frame. he car is glossy with clean linework and chrome detailing. In front of the wall is a collection of paint tins
An artist in an orange high-vis vest, black pants, and a dark red cap paints a large-scale face of a cartoon-style clown swing on a mural wall. The clown has exaggerated black and white facial features: huge eyes, a prominent smiling mouth
A close-up view of a brush painting tiny white details onto the textured black feathers of a red-tailed black cockatoo mural. The feathers are highly detailed, with tiny strokes of white that simulate the bird’s speckled plumage.
Haylee Fieldes
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