Eye’ll be watching: new street art deterring illegal dumping in Bullens Lane

Walk along Bullens Lane in Melbourne’s CBD, and you might feel the piercing gaze of a pair of eyes staring you down.

The source? A new street art installation.

The new artwork by Hong Kong-born artist Mimi Leung portrays a pair of eyes, which, according to the City of Melbourne, act as a form of visual surveillance to deter illegal dumping in the area. 

Ms Leung, who studied a Master’s in communication art and design at the Royal College of Art in the UK, is a multidisciplinary artist working with mediums such as drawing, illustration, and animation.

The council said that her body of work “explores identity, belonging and using art to understand and transcend the mundanity of daily life”.

This installation tells the story of nature finding a way to thrive in the city, such as weeds squeezing through pavement cracks.

The flowers in the artwork symbolise growth and joy, a stark contrast in an alley used for waste disposal.

With this artwork, Ms Leung hopes to inspire people to look beyond the surface and appreciate the possibilities of life in the least likely places.