Marlon’s octopus encounter brings mural to life

If you’ve travelled past the skate park at Lennox Head lately, you might have noticed the orange octopus reaching out to wave hello. You might have wondered how an octopus came to be part of the design?

Fourteen-year-old Marlon Denning from Lennox Head inspired the artist with his fascinating story.

Anyone who’s watched the Netflix film My Octopus Teacher would know how intelligent and friendly an octopus can be. Marlon experienced this first hand during lockdown and home schooling last year whilst exploring local ocean rock pools. Incredibly, he made friends with two octopuses (the common species), one smaller one and another he named ‘Mr Big’.

Photos and video footage captured by Marlon’s mum Sharyn show how the octopuses would swim around him, touching his toes, and often reaching up for a hi-five. Sharyn says Marlon has had an affinity with animals from a very young age.

“He’s always loved bugs and creepy crawlies, like centipedes, lizards, frogs, and snakes. He’s so careful and gentle, they don’t run away from him.”

The first time Marlon watched a David Attenborough documentary it happened to be about the octopus. Ever since he’s been captivated by the intelligent creatures.

Unfortunately he hasn’t seen either of the octopuses since returning to school.

“There’s less time to visit the rock pool and you have to go when the tide is very low, about 0.3 to 0.4 metres,” he said.

But having his story included in the mural is a lovely reminder of his special encounter.

Marlon also enjoys art and likes to make his own detailed paintings of wildlife, including octopus and squid. So when he heard about the public art project he contacted the artist, NITSUA, with his idea. NITSUA was right on board and invited Marlon to get involved.

Marlon and other local youth helped to prepare the background and apply stencils over the course of a week.

“It’s just really good art,” says Marlon. “And it feels good to know that some of it is inspired by my story.”

Image: NITSUA, Soli Kench and Marlon Denning