CABINET OF CURIOSITIES
Facing the staircase at Fern Bar & Dining, stretching across three levels of wall space, is a mural that refuses to be seen all at once.
You might notice it while climbing the stairs, or from the upper landings. You might catch it from your seat at the bar, glimpsed between bottles and glassware. Wherever you encounter it, the effect is the same. It makes you look twice.
This is the Cabinet of Curiosities, a large-scale hand-painted mural by Australian artist Lisa King. It is not a literal cabinet, and it is not confined by frames. Instead, it is a layered, vertical canvas of surreal imagery and symbolic fragments, stacked across the building’s internal void like a dreamscape assembled over time.
Lisa King is known for murals that blend realism with abstraction, often exploring strength, identity, and the interplay of past and future. Her work has appeared on walls from Adelaide to Berlin, and in collaborations with global brands. Each piece holds an element of distortion that invites viewers to find their own meaning.
In this mural, curiosity becomes the central theme. Objects and creatures emerge like characters in a story that refuses to be neatly told. A white cockatoo perches above, a reminder of Australia’s native wildlife and Melbourne’s habit of pairing the everyday with the unexpected. A bright Chinese rabbit appears on one of the shelves, a playful nod to Chinatown just around the corner and to the city’s deep cultural diversity.
There are also signs of sport and fashion. A single sneaker, casual yet iconic, hints at Melbourne’s streetwear culture. Nearby, a tennis ball rests like a jewel, referencing the Australian Open and the city’s international sporting stage. These details anchor the mural in the identity of the neighbourhood, where creativity collides with competition, and culture is never far from play.
Look closer and more fragments reveal themselves. A neon sign flickers the word “Curious.” Toy-like figures share space with books and bottles. Everyday objects take on new weight when painted at scale, layered with colour and light. Nothing is presented as whole, yet everything connects to a larger story.
The Cabinet of Curiosities is not a mural to be understood at once. It is meant to be revisited, each time revealing a new detail, a fresh link back to Melbourne, and a reminder that the neighbourhood always has something more to show you.
