Cinematographer Martyn Taylor stumbled upon history in the making back in 2014, and was intrigued so much he ended up documenting it through film.
His clever and colourful 25-minute documentary, The Making of The Amazing Merewether Aquarium, debuts on YouTube today.
Taylor captured mural artist Trevor Dickinson at work on the pedestrian tunnel that runs under Frederick Street, joining Ridge Street to Henderson Parade and the Merewether waterfront.
The film includes conversations among Dickinson and his crew, including guests (Michael Bell, John Earle, Mark Richards, Brian Wolfenden), locals and surfers over 12 days (of a total of 53 paint days) in the winter of 2014.
It all started with a moment of serendipity.
"I was in town visiting family," Taylor said. "I wandered past the tunnel with my camera. I heard this music coming out of this freshly painted tunnel. I wandered up the tunnel and here was this English guy painting a mural.
"He was just getting started. We just started chatting, hit it off. I liked his style. It was very organic."
Taylor, originally from Newcastle but based in Sydney, returned to film more of the work.
Finally, with time to spare during the pandemic lockdown, he's finished the final edit. He had so much good material, it always stood a chance of being a cool film, and it is.
"I wanted to use every single frame," Taylor said. "It was so intoxicating. The beautiful paint and colour."
Most of the footage just unfurled in front of him, by total chance. Like being there the day artist Michael Bell stopped by to tidy up his dog art that was already in the tunnel when Dickinson was commissioned to do a full mural.
Or artist John Earle's visit to paint a painting on an easel - another attraction in the aquarium.
Or the day Mark Richards signed the surfboard he's holding in the aquarium mural.
"There were a lot of those candid moments - none of that was set up," Taylor said.
Dickinson was caught by surprise when Taylor told him the film was finished.
"For the first few years after the mural was completed, I had been looking forward to seeing Martyn's film," he said. "Then I gradually forgot about all about it.
"It was a complete surprise when Martyn wrote to me last week and said it was finished. To finally see it was such a pleasure and worth the wait.
"It's beautifully filmed, and way more entertaining than I expected. Merewether looks amazing and the time lapses of the sunlight travelling through the tunnel look gorgeous."
The film is released on Friday, October 1, at noon, on YouTube - but it may be easier to find on Martyn Taylor's website.
