Artists work hiding in plain sight

It's possible if you saw one of Kitt Bennett's incredible, large-scale murals in person you might not realise what you were looking at.

The Melbourne-based street artist paints the murals on the ground, and they are so large it's hard to observe them in person.

Viewed from above, the murals, sometimes covering large skate parks or traversing basketball courts, reveal hidden images - fallen skeletons or skaters, discarded shoes or flies and maggots.

Bennett is a freelance street artist based in Melbourne. He got a bachelor of illustration in 2014 and since then has operated out of the much-loved Juddy Roller studio in Melbourne.

From there, Bennett's shown his illustrations and paintings in group shows and had a solo exhibition, which he held in a "public toilet on Smith Street in 2015", according to his website.

Bennett's highly detailed skeleton mural lays across a Melbourne skate park. Picture: Kitt Bennett

A person walks across Bennett’s large skeleton mural. Picture: Kitt Bennett

Bennett said he developed his idea of painting enormous murals on the ground - that might never be seen in full by the naked eye - after thinking about how technology had changed the way people engage with art.

"Our technology and phones change the way we view things," Bennett told news.com.au.

"We can shift our perspective of a landscape by viewing it from above thanks to drones, phones and satellite.

"I come from an illustration and painting background. So I wanted to express my artworks on new and different surfaces."

Bennett knows his paintings are best viewed from above and is aware most people will enjoy them through a small screen, like Instagram.

But those digital limitations made him want to go bigger.

"Coming from an illustration background, I've been used to drawing and painting a lot smaller," Bennett said.

Painting one skate park was enough to get Bennett hooked on the great outdoors.

"After painting the ground of a small skate park, I wanted to take the idea further and see if I could push the scale as much as I could. After a bit of searching and with the help of Darebin council I got access to the Reservoir Skate Park," Bennett said.

His creativity flourished on this project.

"I painted my first large ground painting - a pink skeleton which spanned over three basketball courts," he said.

Reservoir Skate Park is covered in a massive mural. Picture: Kitt Bennett

Bennett said people looking at his works close up often asked "what is it?".

"These paintings are designed to be seen from above, but people on the ground can still enjoy it from that perspective as well," he explained. "It's just a different way of experiencing it."

Bennett will be showing at Juddy Roller Gallery "sometime next year".