INVURT

Amongst my travels over the last few months, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and visiting with a whole bunch of artists. Last week I had the chance to catch up with two favourites, The Yok and Sheryo in their Brooklyn studio as they prepare for their upcoming exhibition "Pipe Dreams" (we posted a whole bunch of photos from their Mexico adventures not too long ago also).

Not only was I able to get a great interview with the pair of them (for the next issue of Damnit! Magazine), but I was also able to get an awesome preview of the show in the works …

"Krause Gallery is pleased to present the highly anticipated exhibition of recent works by Brooklyn-based duo Sheryo and the Yok. While previously seen in group exhibitions, Pipe Dreams marks their first solo show in the United States since establishing the city as their primary residence last year.

Working with varying painting techniques, the artists have culled together collaborative pieces that represent their shared life together. From their nomadic travels the past year to in-jokes with their friends in New York, the Yok and Sheryo seamlessly combine their adventures into every detail of their work.

For example, their hand painted vases combine eastern & western elements to portray the values of ideology, devotion, relationships, dharma and karma, depicting a narrative from the rich tales of their journey.

From their fun filled art renderings with Chinese dragons, pipes, and geishas intermixing with the New York culture, Sheryo and the Yok put their own illustrative styles on imagery as they re-interpret the traditional folklore and fables of old Chinese times while injecting their own personal stories with their iconic styles.

Their most recent body of work for their upcoming show at Krause Gallery is full of adventure and intrigue as they departed the United States for countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. By traveling to their native countries as well as a few places in between, Sheryo and the Yok characterize their formative life experiences with the memories that are being made together. Another example of this can be seen in their newest body of work; after returning from warm Mexico to the rain and snow of New York they used their cartoons to reflect on the sunnier days behind them; beer, Spanish icons and surf boards began to be a part of each piece.

For their solo show at the gallery they will also be creating hand painted ceramic plates, vases, painted pieces on paper and canvases, a surprise installation downstairs along with Limited Edition one color 25” x 19” high quality screen prints. Pipe Dreams is a must see for any street art enthusiast or talent seeker of any kind."

Also check out the rad video that they’ve put out with some of the plate and vase action in it all …

Here is all the details for the show – and check out the gallery down below for a great preview of the show and a bunch of shots from around their studio! Also, check out the catalogue of all the work in the show – amazing.

Who: The Yok & Sheryo
What: Pipe Dreams
Where: Krause Gallery, 149 Orchard St, New York City
When: Show opens Thursday 16th May from 7pm til 9pm and runs for a month.

More pics from the studio visit below ….

One of Australia’s “premier contemporary style and culture events” CARBON festival returns to Melbourne for it’s third year running. Invurt covered CARBON last year via a live blog event and we’ll be hoping to do the same again this year.

The line up this year has me REALLY excited. Some of my all time favourite artists, photographers, producers, writers, designers, website founders, well you get the idea. The line up this year is: Shawn Stussy, Ronnie Fieg, Eddie Huang, Simon ‘Woody’ Wood, Jeff Hamada, Henry Chalfant, Martha Cooper, Dabs Myla, Lawrence Schlossman, Mark Drew, Barry McGee, PM Tenore, Andrew Montell and Geoffrey Lillemon. Artist profiles below.

We’re also planning to publish a couple of pre-event interviews, so keep your eyes peeled for them. This should be another awesome event. Details on the show and where to buy tickets below.

Artist Profiles:

Henry Chalfant

One of the foremost authorities on New York graffiti and hip-hop culture, Henry Chalfant’s photographic and film studies of early subway graffiti include the definitive books on the subject Subway Art and Spray Can Art, the former of which he co-authored with Martha Cooper. He co- produced the 1984 documentary Style Wars, widely considered the best exploration of graffiti culture captured on film.

http://www.henrychalfant.com

Martha Cooper

Respected documentary photographer Martha Cooper has worked for The Washington Post and has had photographs featured in multiple publications and gallery exhibitions. Martha is best known for her documentation of graffiti art, including several books on the subject.

http://www.12ozprophet.com

Shawn Stussy

Former surfboard shaper Shawn Stussy first printed his name onto a t-shirt in the early eighties. His namesake surf label Stussy quickly grew to become one of the first true streetwear labels recognised on a global scale.

http://www.s-double.com

Ronnie Fieg

Ronnie Fieg is one of today’s most sought-after designers in footwear, his list of 2012 collaborations includes highly coveted shoe releases for Sebago, New Balance, Puma, Asics, Dr Martens and many more. 2011 saw the opening of his iconic Manhattan store Kith.

http://www.ronniefieg.com

Eddie Huang

Eddie Huang’s wildly erratic talent has seen him enter many career paths – from lawyer, weed dealer to standup comedian – before charging onto the NY food scene with his hit restaurant BaoHaus. He has been described as a celebrity chef for the hip-hop generation, with his ongoing video segment on Vice.com, Fresh Off The Boat.

http://www.baohausnyc.com

Simon ‘Woody’ Wood

Simon ‘Woody’ Wood celebrated 10 years at the helm of one of Australia’s most successful independent magazines Sneaker Freaker last year, which has grown into a globally distributed gospel for sneaker culture.

http://www.sneakerfreaker.com

Jeff Hamada

Vancouver based artist Jeff Hamada is the man behind Booooooom.com, one of the Internet’s most popular art blogs. Jeff has used the platform to launch a host of exciting exhibitions, interactive projects and philanthropic endeavors.

http://www.booooooom.com

Dabs Myla

Melburnian expat husband and wife graffiti duo Dabs Myla are the talk of the Australian art scene following a string of successful shows locally and abroad. Their relocation and settlement in
Los Angeles has exposed their captivating work to the US market and allowed the Dabs Myla brand to gain worldwide traction. Their distinctive, cartoon flavoured pieces have appeared in the streets, on magazine covers and inside gallery walls. Dabs & Myla share their experience with a forum audience for the first time at Carbon.

http://www.dabsmyla.wordpress.com

Mark Drew

Mark Drew entered the world of design with a photocopied self-published hip hop zine in Sydney during the ‘90s. After establishing his status as a graphic artist, Mark co-founded the iconic Surry Hills gallery China Heights with Ed Woodley in 2003 before relocating to Tokyo in 2009. His graphic artworks have become coveted collector pieces, referencing ‘90s hip hop iconography and pop culture. His designs have taken the form of album artwork, apparel and can be found on gallery walls, as well as having been featured in ad campaigns for Sony, Nike and New Era.

http://www.makingends.com

http://www.chinaheights.com

Lawrence Schlossman

Now helming editorial duties at the newly formed, fast-growing menswear website Four-Pins, part of the Complex Network, Lawrence Schlossman’s satirical approach to his field of expertise has won him a loyal and expansive online following. Schlossman is also co-creator of the blog site Fuck Yeah Menswear and co-author of the book of the same title.

http://www.four-pins.com

http://www.fuckyeahmenswear.tumblr.com

Barry McGee

Joining Geoffrey Lillemon in the Contemporary Art And Design forum is San Francisco contemporary artist Barry McGee. McGee began exhibiting his art in the late ‘80s on the streets of San Francisco and is a globally applauded contemporary artist.

http://www.weareallcarbon.com/the-speaker/barry-mcgee/

PM Tenore


The Building A Brand forum welcomes PM Tenore, founder and President of street and surf lifestyle brand RVCA to its lineup. Tenore is a man with humble beginnings who dreamt up RVCA in his garage and personifies the entrepreneurial spirit of the forum. His experience in building and maintaining a brand over many years will provide invaluable insight.

http://www.weareallcarbon.com/the-speaker/pm-tenore/

Andrew Montell

Speaking as part of the New Media forum is Founder and Editor In Chief of ACCLAIM magazine Andrew Montell. Montell will be sharing his experience of independent publishing beginning with Out4Fame Magazine in 1999 to the present day incarnation of ACCLAIM encompassing print, web and creative agency activity.

http://www.acclaimmag.com

Geoffrey Lillemon


Joining the Contemporary Art And Design forum, Geoffrey Lillemon is considered a leader in the Net Art Movement is an experienced public speaker. Lillemon is an adidas Originals ambassador and influential art world figure, and is one of a few creative artists recruited for the 2013 adidas Unite All Originals campaign.

http://www.geoffreylillemon.com

CARBON Festival 2013 – Flyer

Who: CARBON

What: 
CARBON festival 2013

Where: 
RMIT Storey Hall Auditorium, Melbourne CBD

When: 
Saturday April 13 – Sunday April 14, 2013


Tickets here. (2 Day Pass: $150 (incl GST) 
1 Day Pass: $83 (incl GST) * Student discount available).

Facebook event page here.

Back in 2010, when I first started Invurt, one of the very first interviews we ran was with two of my favourite artists – Dabs Myla. They were, at that time, just settling in to their new life in Los Angeles, having emigrated to the USA in the pursuit of artistic happiness and a fully fledged creative life.

There’s no doubt in my mind that in the past three years Dabs Myla have not only discovered their artistic dream across the seas, but that they have also forged ahead and made a mark beyond expectations. They are now, undoubtedly, one of the most beloved artistic teams in todays street/graffiti/low brow/pop (well, they do cross it all, really!) artistic culture, and they have garnered a legion of dedicated fans across the globe. Wielding either can or brush with a down to earth, fun loving spirit, Dabs Myla are, quite simply, fucking cool examples of what can be accomplished by feverously pursuing “The Dream”.

Three years after their last Australian show, Hollywood & Western, at the much missed Per Square Metre gallery, Dabs Myla are now returning to Melbourne to do it all again – and this time, they’re painting and installing up a plethora of grand shit at Armadales Metro Gallery with their new show “All Good Things“.

Read on for our latest interview with this amazing pair, and for a few sneak peaks of their coming show …

It’s been a while since we last caught up! So, situation report? Ha! Still in LA, still painting up a storm – but what has been the biggest change or challenge you’ve encountered since we last spoke back in 2010?

MYLA: I guess in the last three years not too much has changed!!

Just painting a lot, we worked ourselves even harder in 2012 than I even thought was possible! It was a really busy year!

I’m not sure if there has been any major creative challenges specifically. We always put a lot of ourselves into everything we do. If it’s a wall or a painting or a T shirt design or whatever we always push ourselves as hard as possible to make it better than the last which can be challenging on a daily basis.

You’ve been keeping some great company over there, with collabs with a whole bunch of different artists over the past few years – can you tell us some of the more interesting and cool work you’ve done with artists in recent times?

DABS: We are really lucky to have so many ultra talented friends! We love to work on walls or different projects with people that we look up to and get along with!

We do always have a great time working with our friend CRAOLA. Even though we have pretty different styles things seems to work out great when we collaborate. Part of that might be the juxtaposition of our styles … but I think it also comes down to having similar personalities and work ethics!

Miami Miami, tell us a bit about the most recent Miami Basel – how did the painting go? (that hand brushed truck you did looked rad) What did you see that blew you away? Why should everyone go to Miami Basel at least once in their lifetime, and tell us all the things we should be jealous of for not having been there!

DABS:This year was the 4th year we’d been to Miami for Art Basel, and it was another fun year last year!

It’s always a good time … that’s why I think we keep finding ourselves back there every year.

This year we painted a big wall with our good friend TYKE/WITNESS and CRAOLA. It was one of those walls that just flowed so easily! We all know each other so well, and have worked together a lot … so it all came together pretty effortlessly! We also did a private commission on a truck while we where there that had been organized earlier in the year.

We did the whole truck with brush and acrylic. It was something we had been wanting to try for a while, and we were really happy with the outcome!

So, Trekell brushes – how good are they? These are the same company that put out the Greg Simkins brushes, aren’t they? Will we be seeing any Dabs Myla brushes in the future?

MYLA: Trekell’s brushes suit both of us perfectly….we both have specific types of brushes that we love to use and Trekell have both kinds. I really like using very small fine brushes that have fairly short hairs for painting the details into the buildings, etc, and DABS has always liked using brushes that are kinda like sign writers brushes which have very long hairs.

When we moved to the States, Craola gave us a few Trekell brushes to try out and since then that’s the only brush we have ordered. Last year we were approached by them to join their artist family which we were super stoked about!

You just recently did an installation and some work for a Hello Kitty show back in December, how did you get involved with that and how did it all go? … so, is Hello Kitty cool? I guess it is, haha, but how do you make it cooler? :)

MYLA: Sanrio is a pretty rad company! They have done a lot of amazing artist collaborations and art shows. We have been involved in a few exhibitions in the past and it has always been really sweet.

For their most recent NY show we were approached by them and our friend Roger Gastman to make a series of paintings and build an installation. Like always. it was fun working with their characters!

I think its a good fit for us, so we are always down to work with them.

So! Tell us about about this next show you have coming up, and what we can expect from it all? What are you going to be bringing us?

DABS: Our show in Melbourne is going to be at Metro Gallery and is titled ‘ALL GOOD THINGS …’

We have made a new series of paintings and drawings for the show, and will be creating a big installation for the show too! This is the first show for us in Melbourne for three years … and we wanted to come correct!!

Hopefully we have!

Obviously, you’ve exhibited here a lot at some amazing galleries here in Melbourne (including Per Square!) – but how does showing at Metro, a higher end kind of space, affect your outlook and the work you’re producing for this homecoming?

DABS: It doesn’t really change anything from our end. We have gone about creating the work in the same way and haven’t really thought about the location or status of the gallery. The work and intent is the same!

… it just happens to be on the other side of the river!!

Do you believe you’re well and truly “living the dream”? One thing I’ve always been interested in … “once you’re living the dream” what takes place of that striving to “live the dream” …  and what are you dreaming up for 2013?

MYLA: We are living the dream!! I couldn’t imagine ever being this happy and fulfilled in my life! Working and doing what we want every day and doing it together!

I think, for us, what takes place of “striving to live the dream” is to make sure that the “living the dream” doesn’t go away – and making sure it continues forever!

Big thanks to Dabs Myla for their time and images, as well as to Dave Russell for his progress shots of All Good Things …

For about two years now, we’ve been rocking a couple of Invurt shirts around the place. We’ve been asked a whole bunch of times where people can get hold of them, so we’ve decided to make three designs available through Redbubble.

As you know, we do all the stuff here on the website without any real expectation in return, but there are costs associated with it all … so if you’ve ever wanted to directly help support us,  now’s your chance!

First up is the classic Invurt T from Pierre Lloga – Pierre did this one for us prior to the Outpost Project up in Sydney, and its the shirt we have rocked the most over the past two years – big fans. Available in colours, as well as in both Pullover and Zip up hoodies.

Second up, is of course, our now logo from the man himself, Hancock (also check out @hancock_art on instagram). This is the same graphic from both here on the website, as well as on all of our stickers and other swag – we love this design! Also available in hoodies, yep!

The third shirt design, is from the hand of our friend Mikaela Jane (@mikaelajane on instagram) – we haven’t released this logo before and this sees its first outing! We love her custom type and we love our orange on purple (though there are other colours available also)! Yep, there’s hoodies available as well!

Lastly, I have actually gone through and put a whole bunch of my own personal artwork on a bunch of shirts as well – okay, so not Invurt related, but I hope you think there’s some cool designs of some creatures, nonetheless!

You can find all of my designs up here.

Anyways, head over to Redbubble to see them all and thanks to Hancock, Pierre and Mikaela Jane for their designs – and, again (regardless) to you – for reading and for all your continual support!

You’ve probably all heard the news and seen it already, but here it is again – Dabs Myla will be returning home from their Hollywood  abode next week, for a entirely new exhibition – “All Good Things …” at Metro Gallery in Armadale.

If you’ve been following Dabs Myla for the last few years (like we have, after we interviewed them just after they made the move to LA) , you’ll know that these two have been painting up a storm, no, a typhoon, of amazing art over in the States. They are two of the most successful Australian artists currently working outside of the country, and it’s really no wonder – their work has massive appeal, and yet still stays true to their Melbourne graffii and street art roots.

We can’t wait to check out this fkn show!!! Woot!

Who: Dabs Myla
What: All Good Things solo show
Where: Metro Gallery, 1214 High St, Armadale, VIC
When: Show opens Friday Febraury 1st from 6:30pm til 9:30pm and runs until the 9th February

Check out Dabs Myla as well as the Metro Gallery website for more info on their show!

Well, we know this one is a little late, but things have been way too hectic lately as we go into the Xmas period – apologies.

The other week we were invited to The Peoples Market grand opening – since then its been in full swing, with a huge variety of art, music and events happening down at this amazing temporary space. If you haven’t been down there just yet, then you should go and check it all out – theres something new and unique every weekend.

Dave Russell got down there whilst they were preparing for it – getting the containers in place and watching Meggs and Rone doing the amazing feature wall, and we also got a few shots from the opening, and all the artwork about the place – theres plenty of it!

If you haven’t been down there yet, you’re really missing out!

Eddie Zammit has to be one  our favourite people – his enthusiasm is infectious, his creativity is unbound, and, well, his t-shirt collection kicks absolute fkn ass over anyones. As the mastermind behind T-World, Eddie has teamed up with the girls from just Another Agency to present Melbourne with something that only those who went to Outpost Festival last year have had a chance to see – a  snapshot of his amazing collection of shirts right in the heart of the city, at the NGV studio in Fed Square.

“Since 1990, T-shirt culture has boomed worldwide, but Melbourne really got started in the ‘80s.

A joint collaboration between Just Another, NGV Studio and T-world, TEES: Exposing Melbourne’s T-shirt culture examines and dissects the last 25 years of the city’s graphics on cotton through the eyes of avid T-shirt collector Eddie Zammit. Zammit digs into his 4,500+ tee collection to uncover influential items that demonstrate the power of Melbourne’s T-shirt past and its future direction.”

This isn’t, however, your run of the mill show. Although the shirts comprise a large portion of it all, the team behind TEES has presented it in such a way that it brings focus to those individuals and collectives who have, over many years, strived to create new and exciting wearable art for the masses. Tshirts, urban, low brow and street art intermesh in many ways – something about the near DIY attitude of it, and then utilising that attitude to propel your creations onto a public-facing canvas has changed the face of modern art over the past few decades.

Thus, like street art and graffiti, T-shirts as a form of public artwork are quite unlike works within a gallery – their often subliminal manifestations form a part of our environment,  they can either grab your attention right away, force their presence upon you, or leave an impression in the corner of your mind – whispering their style and form to your subconscious, erupting without warning upon free associations or recognition.

That the TEES crew are now taking these works of art and placing them in the gallery, it is the former, in your face presence that is the aim – and when viewed in this context, their collective power is manifest. The question between whether these works are art unto themselves (they are), or merely a medium of conveyance (they are) is inconsequential – when you are dealing with a movement that dwars almost every other modern art movement, then who really gives a fuck about such philosophies?

Okay, so I’ve rambled a bit – but I love t-shirts so much that its justified fkn rambling, right?!

The stories behind all of these wearable works is a hugely important aspect of TEES, and as a part of the show, the ever amazingly talented Nicole Reed has photographically documented some of the leaders in the field – and these images and visages bring even more context to the show. They are, as always, beautifully done, and we have a whole bunch of preview shots below …

Head down to the opening night this Friday, or at any time over summer – it will be on for a little while over xmas, and it really is something that everyone should go and check out whilst they are in the city.

Who: Eddie Zammits amazing collection of t-shirts
What: I Love Tees – T-shirt exhibition
Where: NGV Studio Space, The Atrium, Federation Square, Melbourne
When: Now until February 17th 2013. Launch party will be this Friday 14th December from 6pm!

Check out the facebook event page, T-World and Just Another Agency for more details.

When artists come together to donate work and raise money for charity it always warms our hearts. Relatively new Sydney gallery, He Made She Made, put on an excellent group show of work from nationally and internationally renowned artists of differing genres. The cause, the Dandelion Support Newtork – an organisation that provides baby equipment for less fortunate families in NSW and ACT. 26 artists took one letter of the alphabet and reconstructed it with their creative flair, they included Will Lynes, Numskull, Luke Lucas, Paul McNeil, Greedy Hen and Jeff Rogers.

Christmas is upon us, and you know what that means? That means you should go and buy some art for those you love! Where else could you find some real bargains on such an occasion? Well, Safehouse Studio, of course!

Haha, okay, enough fkn infomercial. But, really, you know that when a group of artists in a studio get together to do a garage sale, that even the word "garage sale" wont do it justice. Okay, so we might be a bit biased here, considering Safehouse is our home base, but this Saturday’s Super Garage Sale is going to be mad – and we want to see as many of you there as possible!

We’ll all be digging into our piles of work and putting everything on sale – prints, paintings, sketches, drawings, hidden blackbook gems, and rare pieces from the archives. Not only that, but there will also be a bunch of painting and live art going on, a bbq (of course), art supplies and general good times.

Dangerfork, who are also residents in the studio, will also be pulling out a whole heap of mad stuff will also be "selling lost prints in the archives, test prints, and a selection of current prints at a HUGE DISCOUNT."

This is a chance to not only check out all the work from the crew at the studios, it’s also a great chance for you to come hang out, and maybe lighten our piles of art a little! haha.

If you’re in Melbourne, we’d love to see you there!!

Who: All the Safehouse Studio crew
What: Safehouse Super Garage Sale
Where: Safehouse Studio, 67 North St, Richmond, VIC
When: Starts 11am, Saturday 8th December and goes until 4pm!!

Check out Safehouse studios as well as the facebook event page for more info on the day!

Fezwitch had a pretty big night the other night, as he opened up his first solo show “No Frills Caviar”

The man certainly has his own style going on, and his first show is as ecclectic and intriguing as everything we’ve seen on the streets. It’s on at Egg Gallery in Collingwood for another week or so, and its very much worth checking out.

Check out all the photos from our man Dave Russell below …

Last week Mark Bode returned to Melbourne for a second solo show, Ned Kelly & Other Outback Stories.

The Backwoods pop-up space was filled to the brim with Marks amazing and iconic work, gorgeous illustrations over maps of the Australian countryside – a great show from a masterful hand.

Check out all the photos from Dave Russell below!

Damn, this looks grand! We’re huge fans of Secret Walls, so when we saw this we wondered why the hell we hadn’t seen it done before – so much talent, so much battle, so much great art going up on the walls of aMBUSH Gallery again.

"Considered the premiere live art event the world over, Secret Walls Australia is now in its fifth series and this November, Sydney will be treated to a peek behind enemy lines with the first ever Secret Walls Group Show.

Opening on Thursday 22 November, the show comprises work from all eight artists of Secret Walls Series 5. Taking their inspiration from classic Battle Royale theme, APESEVEN, BEN BROWN, DALE BIGENI, LUKE OKAY, PUDLER, SINDY SINN, TEEM and VEKS have each developed an A2 artwork thatboasts their iconic styles and enviable skills in graffiti, street art and illustration based art.

Hand printed by Aisle6ix Industries, a limited run of 20 signed and numbered “Battle Royale” prints from each artist and works by the eight artists, unconstrained by concept, scale and media will be available for sale. The Secret Walls Group Show one night only Thursday 22 November 6-9pm. All exhibited works are available for sale, and the show is proudly supported by aMBUSH Gallery, Aisle6ix Industries, Little Creatures Bright Ale, Pipsqueak Cider, Monorex, Oxford Art Factory and The Sydney Art Store."

We won’t lie, we would have loved to have seen this for the Melbourne SW crew as well – but we know it’s only a matter of time (we hope!). We’ll definitely be waiting in wrapt anticipation to see all the photos from the night.

Head down there Sydneysiders, this is another grand show from people who know how to put on some of the best we’ve seen.

Who: Apeseven, Ben Brown, Dale Bigeni, Luke OKAY, PUDLER, Sindy Sinn, TEEM and VEKS
What: Secret Walls Battle Royale group show
Where: aMBUSH Gallery, 4 James Street, Waterloo NSW
When: Show opens Thursday 22nd November from 6pm til 9pm

Check out aMBUSH Gallery, Secret Walls Australia and the facebook event page for more info.

Last Wednesday night we made out way over to Metro Gallery to check out the latest exhibition from E.L.K., Not With It.

This has to have been possibly one of the best shows of stencil art that we have ever seen – the mans technical skill is amazing, and we absolutely loved the combination of his new direction in portraiture as well as his social commentary pieces. You can read our latest feature on E.L.K. here, but if you are in Melbourne, you should head down to Metro and see it all for yourself.

In the meantime, check out our photos from the opening below!

I try hard not to use too many “buzz words” on here – its inevitable, really … but, having had a chance to get to two opening of AWOL Fabric exhibition, all I can really say about this is “next fucking level” – argh, there, I said it.

On the private opening night last Thursday, I was rendered speechless  All the hard work and effort that the crew had put in to create something unique had paid off; enormously so. This was a collaborative show that outstrips most other collaborative shows I have seen, and easily ranks in probably the top 10 exhibitions I have seen in my life. I’m not just saying that because  I count the AWOL guys as mates (I mean, they’re all just a damn great bunch of people), I’m saying that because it is very rare that I can walk into a show and find it hard to vocalise how I feel about it. I’m saying it because it was, for me, an epiphany and a vision of what can be done with a tight, solid and experienced collaborative team.

The second night, I arrived all ready for another go at it all again – hilariously, there was a booze bus set up right outside the show. It just added to the whole momentum of the night, having that presence right outside the door – you just can’t plan that kind of shit. The venue itself, an old pump house, was gorgeous – how the hell they managed this, who knows, but there was no more fitting venue for their work. High arches reaching up, a piece from each artist framed within. Then downstairs, almost an entirely different show from above, yet without losing the synergy that the main room had already set up the stage for. It was as if upstairs was the first act, downstairs was the second act, and, the final act … well, the final act was the opening itself, and the meanderings of conversation and talk about the images upon the walls – the artists themselves, each of them a frazzled frenzy as they tried to speak to everyone at once – you could see the past few weeks burnt into their eyes, an irascible glow mitigated between joy and exhaustion.

Even now, trying to encapsulate this show in words really just doesnt do it justice. Was it the 10m mural, created by all of the crew in one brilliant montage of style? Was it the installation downstairs, jagged and edged, and yet feeling as it was merely a natural extension of the room? Was it the collaborative works, that made me feel as if I had been introduced to a whole swath of new, unique artists, “ghost” artists whose only existence in upon a canvas of work created by two or more of the artists? Was it one of my favourite pieces, a small image of a guy laying down with text by Li-Hill, which didn’t grab me immediately … until I looked closer, and saw the beautiful solar panels of a fucking soviet era inspired space station emerging from a etched mist of lines? Fuck yeah.

Was it the fact that every AWOL artist contributed to the show, and the only time I had been able to see how they worked together had been back at the NGV – which, frankly, was a great piece, but nothing next to this?

Slicers impressionistic-abstract letterforms, Adnates soulful eyes and laconic, colourful women,  Lucy Lucys patterned and evocative girls, Itchs sublime surrealistic assaults, Li-Hills lines – those fkn lines! and Deams amazing geometric directions I hadn’t seen before. It was all of the above – it was fucking AWOL.

Anyways, I could probably ramble on about this show for a long time – others probably will. So, in lieu of my espousing even more shit in an attempt to annunciate how I felt about it all, and failing dismally, check out the video they’ve just put out, and then check out all the photos we got on the night … massive thanks to Dave Russell for grabbing all of these for us!

One of our favourite shows we’ve been to this year was Ink Dots Black Spots – so much to see, so much damn fine art in print form. Spread over two venues, it was a jam packed with punters and purveyors.

When we saw last week that it was heading up to Sydney, we couldn’t be happier – a chance for everyone up there to see the great shit hat has come out of all these artists, who, themselves, are spread out over a huge number of Melbourne tattoo and art studios.

"In its inaugural year this exhibition was born from the idea to share artwork from numerous artists to their fans & the public, whilst contributing to those of us who support the fight against cancer. Each sale will add to our total donation goal for Cancel Council Victoria.
Info at www.inkdotsblackspots.com

Featuring 62 limited edition artworks screen printed in editions of 20"

That little bite doesn’t really do it justice though – check out some of the pics we got from the Melbourne opening, as well as the Ink Dots Black Spots website for a glimpse of whats heading up to the Tate this week!

Who: Adrian Krygsman, Alex Rusty Cairns, All One, Alvaro Flores, Amy Duncan, Andrea Daniel, Andrew McLeod, Ben O’Grady, Brett Hayes, Brian Graydon, Bugsy, Caleb Walmsley, Capilli Tupou, Charley Gerardin, Craig Deuce, Dave McAleese, Dave Riley, Marshall, Matt Deverson, Matt Wisdom, Nathan Puata, Nick Edwards, Nick Rutherford, O.T, Owen Williams, Ozzy, Rosa Hardy, Rudie, Sean Jackson, Simplesime, Teniele Sadd, William Yoneyama, Zach Hart, Zoe Dennis, Dean Sacred, Donny Dont, Evan Griffiths, Garth Neale, Gary Krygsman, Geordie Cole, Gred Heasly, Jane Laver, Jess Swaffer, Josh Piddock, Josh Roelink, Julian Fletcher, Lee Stain, Mark Lording, Mark Sender, Mark Tumaru
What: Ink Dots Black Spots group show
When: (Tonight!) Wednesday, October 31st from 6pm til 9pm
Where: The Tate, 345 Glebe Pt Rd, Glebe, Sydney

Check out the facebook event page for more info