Lawrence Tan is the local talent behind Braddon’s newest mural, ‘Flourish’. Photo: City Renewal Authority.
A Canberra artist has transformed a vandalised, graffiti-covered wall on Lonsdale Street into an ode to fleeting beauty.
Lawrence Tan used 500 cans of spray paint and 50 litres of paint over about 23 days, along with a bouquet from Blooms at Braddon, to bring his vision to life.
“I often paint from real-life references, and involving a local florist felt meaningful,” he said.
“Flowers are short-lived by nature, so painting them is a way of preserving and immortalising that fleeting beauty while also celebrating a ground-floor business within the building.”
Lawrence applied for funding through the City Renewal Authority’s 2025-26 Placemaking Grants.
It aims to bring new experiences to Canberra’s City Centre and Braddon by activating public spaces.
Lawrence’s plan aligned with this goal.
“Braddon has many large grey walls, which can feel quite heavy and monotonous,” he said.
“I wanted to bring colour, warmth, and a sense of life into the area, contributing something positive to the everyday experience of the street.”
The mural’s style may be familiar to Canberrans, as Lawrence’s work can be found across the city.
These include the Super Sweet logo, a tiger mural at ZAAB, the Y2K girl at Senn Noods, a Lauryn Hill portrait at Lil Mama, a wayang kulit-inspired piece at Kita and other murals at Ronin Games, 80/20 and Grease Monkey.
Lawrence faced a few challenges when bringing ‘Flourish’ to life, including navigating the wall with a cherry picker.
“The first few days on the cherry picker were quite nerve-wracking,” he said.
“I was adapting to the height and movement and was visibly shaking at times. I still have a healthy fear of heights whenever I look down, but it became part of the experience.”
Temperatures of 38 degrees and strong winds, forcing work stoppages, added to the experience.
But despite the challenges, Lawrence was thrilled at the chance to pay homage to the city that helped shape part of his artistic journey.
“Braddon is the place where I truly developed as an artist. Painting here felt like a way of giving something back to the city that shaped me,” he said.
“I’ve been supported by the local community, small businesses that trusted me with their walls, and government initiatives that actively support artists, and this mural felt like a culmination of that journey.”
The painting of the Flourish mural is the second action to come from the placemaking grants.
The ACT JAM event on Elouera Street in November was also made possible by the funding. This brought Australia’s best and world-renowned freestyle BMX riders to the streets of Braddon.
Other initiatives in the 2025-26 funding round include the Belco Bowl Jam Welcome Party, to be held at Verity Lane on 20 February, and two free outdoor performances from Lakespeare on 22 and 28 February.
Pitch applications for the 2026–27 Placemaking Grants program will open in late January 2026.
