Ride the Adelaide City Bike Art Trail
Why is there an oversize onion in front of the Central Market and a giant fork poking out of the footpath in Melbourne Street?
The huge cutlery item and whopping vegetable (main photo) are part of the Adelaide City Bike Art Trail – a collection of 11 sculptures and artworks commissioned by the Adelaide City Council and installed at locations around the CBD and North Adelaide in 2013.
Several of the pieces cover themes relevant to their location – though you might need to read these descriptions to get the full picture – and most serve as bicycle hitching rails.
The more obvious include Branchrack, a bike rack shaped like a branch near the Botanic Garden; the linked coat hangers that form Fashionistas in Rundle Street; and of course, Fork, among the Melbourne Street eateries.
The plinth-mounted Paper Bag in front of the South Australian Museum is a whimsical take on the roll-call of bronze busts lining North Terrace, while the faceless Parking Pole sign in Hindley Street is just a little spooky.
The seemingly random shapes of the Mrs Robinson bike racks in O’Connell Street, represent the leopard skin outfit worn by a character in the 1967 flick, The Graduate.
So next time you’re pedalling downtown, keep an eye out for these quirky additions to Adelaide’s artistic landscape.
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