Days Like These - United Kingdom Hotel c 1977

This original stencil painting by Melbourne artist Geoff Cunningham captures the nostalgic character of Australian neighbourhoods and everyday childhood moments of the 1970s and 80's. Geoff blends hand-cut stencils and layered spray techniques to create bold light, shadow and detail. Each piece celebrates the warmth, simplicity and familiarity of retro Australian life.

This painting captures the United Kingdom Hotel in Clifton Hill as it appeared in the 1970s - a bold Art Deco landmark anchoring a busy suburban intersection.
There was a time when kids mostly had to fit around the lives of adults. If Mum and Dad were stopping somewhere, the kids came too - and sometimes that meant waiting in the car with a bribe, a treat to keep you happy, and not much else to do.

Somewhere along the way, that balance shifted. Family life became much more organised around children - probably for the better - but scenes like this belong to a very particular version of Australian childhood.

'Days Like These' isn’t really a comment on whether things were better or worse. It’s simply an observation of how things were: long hot afternoons, old cars, car parks, small bribes to keep the peace, and the strange way boredom was simply part of childhood.

A hand-cut multi-layer stencil painting celebrating memory, place and the everyday rituals that quietly define an era.

Acrylic & aerosol on canvas - 90 x 120cm , framed in floating flooded gum