Adelaide-based visual artist Nicole Black was commissioned to create a series of interior murals across Levels 5 to 8 of the Central Market Tower.

Featuring natural food elements, including fruit, vegetables and other produce, the murals establish a visual connection to Adelaide Central Market and its longstanding role in the city’s food culture. Through colour, form and texture, Black’s work brings the natural world into the building, creating engaging interior spaces that celebrate the relationship between food, place and the surrounding community.

Delivered in partnership with Guildhouse, the commission supports the integration of contemporary South Australian art within the built environment and provides a professional opportunity for the artist to develop site-responsive work for the project.

Artwork Story:

Nicole Black’s murals bring the colours, forms and textures of natural foods into the interior spaces of Central Market Tower, creating a visual connection to Adelaide Central Market and its longstanding relationship with fresh produce and food culture.

Across four levels, the murals explore a selection of food elements through distinct compositions. Pomegranate, fig, pear introduces fruit forms on Level 5, while Oyster, mussel, noodle draws on the shapes and textures of seafood and food on Level 6. On Level 7, ‘Figgy’, grape, grain continues the exploration of natural produce, followed by Olive, fig and platter on Level 8.

Drawing on Black’s broader connection to the natural environment, the works balance detail and abstraction to create immersive interpretations of place. Their scale and placement bring visual interest to the building’s interior while referencing the everyday experience of food, nature and the markets that form an important part of Adelaide’s identity.

Artist Biography:

Nicole Black is a visual artist based in Adelaide, South Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts in Painting and Drawing from the University of South Australia, completed in 2011, and an Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design, completed in 2014.

Working across fine art, murals and commercial projects, Black’s practice is centred on a deep connection to the natural environment. Drawing from the vastness of landscapes and the intricacies of flora, she works across mixed media to capture emotional impressions of place, balancing detail and abstraction to express what often lies beyond the visible.

Photography and journaling are integral to her creative process, allowing her to document colour, form, light and memory. Her work reflects a longstanding fascination with the cyclical rhythms of the natural world, capturing the light and mood of the environments she moves through.

In addition to exhibiting in solo, group and curated shows, Black regularly leads workshops and teaches, sharing her interest in creative exploration and process with others.