Several months ago, we saw some images from one of Ghostpatrols latest projects – the painting of a massive wind turbine out in Hepburn/Dalesford, Victoria.
Now, the video for the project and a whole bunch of new images that haven’t been seen before have been released – and what a project it looks to have been!!
"I’m super proud to have been part of this amazing project. The Hepburn Windfarm is australia’s first community owed co-op windfarm. The pairof turbines power Dalesford and the surrounding area.
I proudly accepted my friend Simon’s challenge to paint ‘Gale’. I assembled my team, dived into my research and undertook some serious risk assessment, feeling very lucky to have been trusted to paint such an amazing structure. We pitched our tents under the giant blades and got down to work. As far as I know, I’m the first artist to ever paint a mural on a wind turbine (and I can understand why).
The whole process was super humbling. The community of Dalesford and Hepburn welcomed us and showed us the strength of spirit and passion required to make a difference in the world and confront the serious issues of energy and our responsibility to the environment.
::super thanks to: Scottie, Andre, Bernie, Tarryn, Simon, Tracey and Arved ::photo and video production: Bernard Winter."
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!
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!
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!!
The thing is, though, is that after the Jill Meagher tribute piece in Hosier Lane was painted over, the media (and many other media outlets) in all their “cant get news right” wisdom actually attributed a completely different piece as having painted over it.
“News” outlets such as the Herald Sun made a big song and dance about it, skerricked up some lame quote from someone who occasionally walks through the lane, as well as one from Robert Doyle, and made it out as if the piece being painted over was a terrible, heinous act by a bunch of vandals. Even worse, was that they didn’t even get onto the story until a week after the piece had actually initially been painted over – by then, they had already missed the story. Instead they decided to publish an image that wasn’t the correct piece, and then attempted to vilify a group of artists because they had painted graffiti over … a piece of graffiti.
The real story, however, was that the wall had initially been reclaimed by a bunch of awesome female artists paying both homage and respect to the “tribute” piece in the best way possible – by bringing attention to the plight of those affected by violence and sexual abuse. If anything was appropriate to replace that tribute to Jill Meagher, it was what these ladies did. Then, when you think it couldn’t get any worse, was that when the media outlets that reported on it were given the real story, they completely ignored it. It was no longer news to them, they’d all already magic’ed up their own sensationalist version of the truth and moved on to the next “news” cycle.
Imagine our surprise.
This story speaks for itself, directly from the artists who painted over the Jill Meagher tribute piece in Hosier lane two weeks ago. Unlike the Herald Suns, Channel 7, 3AW “news”, The Irish Times and The Suns (to name just a few) hugely incorrect version, this is what really happened down at Hosier Lane.
Please read on, and share it around – not just for the reason that it is the real story, but for fact that it is a wonderful act by a group of women who wanted to bring attention to the terrible actions of the darker side of humanity, and those who suffer because of them.
For the record a group of five women reclaimed that wall on Friday 26th October at 5pm. Why? Because it was our right, and to be perfectly honest, no-one else had the courage to do it.
After the tragic death of Jill Meagher, a visiting graffiti tourist decided it would be a nice gesture to show his respect by painting his condolences on a world famous wall – which at the time was covered with some of the most technically amazing, and aesthetically beautiful graffiti that Melbourne has ever been fortunate enough to see.
The irony is that this simple act showed an absolute disrespect to the artists whom he went over, as well as to the local Melbourne graffiti community. The mainstream media took hold of the story and ran with it. The Melbourne City council even proposed to ‘protect’ it.
Meanwhile, I decided that something had to be done about it. How dare this mural remain in my city? How dare the general population of Melbourne glorify a victim of sexual violence by sensationalizing an illegal graffiti mural? I was really fucking angry. I reached out to my local network of female graffiti artists and proposed that we reclaim the space during the official Reclaim The Night march on the last Friday of October. We took it back as a protest against sexual violence on women and children, and we took it back so that beautiful ephemeral art could once again be created on that wall for all to see.
Since that Friday night, several artists have painted on the wall. Unfortunately some of those artists were blamed for vandalizing the RIP Jill mural. I contacted each and every one of those online and printed news article journalists to provide our story and explain the reasons behind the re-paint, but not one of them wanted to hear it. Mainstream media don’t want the truth, they want sensationalism.
You know what? Fuck them! We own the streets and we will paint whatever we like on them.
You’ve heard my side of the story, here’s what the other ladies had to say.
SKIES
I wanted to paint Hosier Lane because it’s the graff community’s wall.
It’s nice to be able to relax and paint in the city sometimes before work and it’s awesome to check out new pieces. 20 metres of wall, taken away from us permanently, was just wrong – the fact it was just a stomper which covered some really burner pieces, is just disrespectful. It’s one less spot to paint and that RIP mural belonged on the lines really.
We left Jill’s name anyway, 1m of wall for a tribute is fine with me.
I’m annoyed at the media for publishing an incorrect story. The family is probably feeling worse now because they’re being told that the stone placed where the body was found was removed and the tribute art was painted over. The media have done more damage than good (no surprises there). If they had the real story, they would have known the pieces covering the art was not only for Jill but for all women. It has also portrayed some graffiti artists as cold hearted – which simply isn’t the case. When the public and police saw us painting over the art and knew the reason, they were very understanding and supportive.
LILAR
We all dream of a better world where violence and abuse is unheard of, unfortunately this is not the case. It happens on a daily basis to women of all shapes and age. Nearly two thirds (57%) of Australian women will experience assault in some form in their life time which develops long-term effects on all relationships and within the community. Quite clearly this is too much, this needs to be stopped. When I was invited to paint hosier lane on behalf of ‘Reclaim The Night’ I was wholeheartedly involved as this is an issue close to home. This was an opportunity to give me a voice and to use public space at night without fear, this should be an everyday right. We are all human and we all bleed red just because of gender, someone should not put restrictions on their lifestyle.
On the matter of painting over the RIP Jill mural, this was by no means any disrespect to her or her family, this was to raise awareness to the real and unfortunate attacks on women that occur on a daily basis. Traditionally Reclaim The Night is a march, however my interpretation is to say that we are never to blame for rape or violence. Those who commit the crimes are to be blamed, we demand the right to be able to live without fear and demand for an end to sexual violence so we can enjoy our freedom.
MOISEL
Reclaim the Night is a annual worldwide march by woman for woman. Victims of rape, mental or physical abuse and domestic violence need to stand tall together and demand our human rights as females, and to feel safe in our streets. Painting over this mural with female graffiti artists was in respect to what happened to Jill Meagher and all woman of all countries who have been sexually violated. This act of painting was to speak out to woman and girls that rape and violence is not on and needs to be stopped now.
When I was approached with this idea, I was honored to be able contribute and help raise awareness of ‘Reclaim the Night’ – what better place to spread the word and have the opportunity to speak to others passing by than Hosier Lane.
I hope a message was sent out to the public that what we did was not a sign of disrespect for painting over the mural, but simply a way of raising awareness to others in the community to speak out and help one another. Woman and young girls should absolutely feel safe walking Melbourne streets alone. We left the ‘Jill’ section of the wall out of respect to her and her family, and it is sad to see that the next artists to paint the wall went over this. I hope that more people will choose to join the annual marches and tell their friends about it. We need more woman standing up for our rights and to help stop Violence against Woman.
MAIDEN
I wanted to keep drawing on the media coverage of this repulsive act, that women and children, even men, are being sexually violated by predators and unjustly victimised by persons of the law.
The bottom line is we should be safe in our streets, that’s our right no matter what age, sex, social status, mental state, attire or anything else the law can put in the mix that ‘forced’ predators to act in this way.
Reclaim your right, reclaim your night!
(Please click on the image above for a detailed view of the actual work that replaced the Jill Meagher Tribute Piece)
Ed. We’d like to say a big thankyou to Joske, Lilar, Maiden, Skies and Moisel for sending us through this story. We wish that the media had of actually paid attention to this, and we share your disgust at how the whole thing was handled by them – why invent the truth when the real story is so much more important?
We hope that your words find their way to all those who need to read them.
We don’t often post too much news here on the website, so please excuse this break from our regular services.
We’ve been slightly remiss with some of our updates lately, due to the fact that we’ve been hell busy on a variety of different projects. We do apologise for this, as we haven’t had much time lately to get to everything we usually would – but, it’s all for the better! Amongst things here and elsewhere, we’ve also been helping Dean Sunshine out with his upcoming book launch, moving our studio and, wonderfully, we’ve just entered into some new territory with a great collaborative project with out friends over at Nothing To Nobody magazine … so, read on!!
We’re pretty excited about this one, and we’ve been looking forward to sharing it with you properly for a while now.
For some time, I’ve harboured a wish to begin a print magazine. I’ve been writing and editing about art, music and general creativity for well over ten years now in various forms and for various different avenues, and starting up a print project has always been the dream. Given that it’s a huge endeavour, I had never gotten much beyond the planning stages for the project I had in mind (which is still bubbling away!).
By a random chance catch-up conversation at Secret Walls in Melbourne, Jo Jette from Nothing to Nobody fame told me of a project she’d begun working on – it sounded great, we talked some more, and, long and short of it, I’m now the Editor for our new print venue – Damn It! Magazine.
"DAMN IT! is a triannual, 96 page, limited edition magazine, whose staff work for smiles, mainly as we can’t afford to pay them yet! Instead we put every cent we have into the publication, so that each issue will kick the can of the previous one.
We’re firm believers in the spoon full of sugar mantra, DAMN IT! magazine features juicy articles on super talented peeps – illustrators, photographers, typographers, painters, couture designers, writers, and other creative types as well as reporting on the more serious happenings in the world.
Each issue will also shine a Bat-signal on some of the amazingly selfless work done by caring peeps setting up and running not-for-profits all round the world. We’re not afraid to put our money where our damn big mouths are, and we pledge to donate $0.50 from each copy of DAMN IT! sold to the not-for-profit we feature in that issue.
The name DAMN IT! was chosen as the expression can have both positive and negative connotations. For example: “Damn it! That’s some good cider!” or “Damn it, I just trod in a pile of ginareinheart!”
We’d Love Your Help
Myself and Jo Jette have been working on various magazines, online publications and print magazines for over ten years. On our first foray together into our new project, we are looking for a little help to get us started with our own. We have started a campaign over at Indigogo, and we are looking for a few generous donations to kickstart the whole thing. This is a long term project for myself and Jo, and we’re really looking forward to it. Damn It!, like Invurt and Nothing To Nobody will be a labour of love, and any help thrown our way would be hugely appreciated and would mean a lot to us both!
DAMN IT! Will always remain limited edition so it’s special – a collector’s item if you will, and we also promise to limit the number of advertisements to 5 per issue – never more. By helping us raise the money to print DAMN IT! you’ll also be a part of making these great things happen – you’ll be part of the DAMN IT!! community and not just a ‘reader’. Plus you’ll have our never-ending thanks and undying love to keep you warm at night!
Of course, we don’t expect something for nothing, so incentives include a whole range of great swag – issues of Damn It! Magazine, toys, custom designed Damn It! t-shirts by prominent Melbourne artist Hancock and apparel from our good friends Boy Wolf are all up for grabs when you throw us your support.
After two years at our Prahran studio, we’ve packed up and headed over to Richmond to join the guys over at SafeHouse Studios. If you haven’t heard of Safehouse, well, chances are you probably actually have!
The crew at the studio have been responsible and had their hands amongst a huge range of shows and events across Melbourne since they all got together, and comprise some of Melbournes leading design, aerosol, printmaking and art project management talent. Dangerfork, It Stands Out, Graffix Creative, MT Design, MV Communication and DJW Creative all have homes at Safehouse, and now so do we …
"The SafeHouse is based in Richmond. We are a creative studio that specialises in design & art-based productions.
SafeHouse is not only a collective of artists & designers but also a mixed lolly bag of creative businesses. The Studio encompasses many traits and individual insignias of various art, design & production facets. All involved at the studio seek to benefit as a group from each others experience & knowledge as a whole. Through our mixed specialties we are able to hit the ground running with virtually any creative project or artwork at hand.
The individuals who work from the studio and/or operate their own creative businesses all come well trained in their respective fields. As a whole the SafeHouse is on the forefront of modern art & design. SafeHouse prides itself on strong design aesthetics & also professional project management, brillant production & outstanding results. We have a proven track record of getting what needs to be done, done… with the best possible outcome & in the timeline provided.
SafeHouse is a sanctuary for various urban designers & artists that have chosen to infuse their skillsets & work together for a greater creative community based calling.
The people that make up the SafeHouse team all come from different backgrounds and their skills include: Creative Management, Design, Web Design, Animation, Art Direction, Advertising, Campaigns, Strategy, Marketing, Guerilla Marketing, Branding, Brand Strategies, Photography, Fine Art, Illustration, Exhibitions, Product Launches, Product Promotions, Exhibition Curation, Furniture Design, Signage, Shop Fit-Outs, Fine Art Murals, Graffiti Murals, Graffiti Management, Printing, Fine Art Printing, Screen-Printing and the list goes on, and on, and on."
We can’t tell you how happy we are with our new home – we’re looking forward to our stay there, and looking forward to bringing you more news, events and other cool shit from our studio mates.
Great times ahead, all, thankyou for your continuing support!!!
Last week saw the opening of Stormie Mills latest solo show, People & Places, at Melbournes Metro Gallery.
As to be expected, Stormie brought his “A game”, with a delectable array of his stylised, emotive characters spread across the walls of the gallery.
Something else we loved, was the “cityscape” piece that heralded the show – this piece was different – we saw something like this of his in a previous show, after he had visited Antarctica, and, we have to say, it was gorgeous and we hope to see even more of this abstractia in the future!
Check out all the photos from the opening below, thanks to Dave Russell …
We caught up with Stormie Mills last weekend at the Art & About Conversation Corner – one of the things we heard whilst we were there was that he was also going to be adding his own personal touches to the Cullen Hotel.
"Artist Stormie Mills will be the first Australian street artist to be honoured with a street art suite at The Cullen hotel in Melbourne, joining internationally renowned artists D*Face, Swoon and Blek Le Rat.
Stormie’s suite will be the fourth Street Art Suite in the hotel. Renowned street artists D*Face, Swoon and Blek Le Rat have left their marks whilst staying in the hotel since it opened in late 2009. In 2012, The Cullen officially launched their Street Art Suites to guests, further cementing the Art Series Hotels mandate of creating unique art inspired experiences for guests.
Stormie, who is in residence at the Hotel from Tuesday 2 October for an exhibition at Metro Gallery 1 – 20 October, will gather inspiration and leave his mark in the suite over the course of the week.
Best known for his character based work, Stormie explores the idea of isolation and the human condition, drawing on his time as a homeless adolescent for inspiration. Stormie has travelled the world showing in London, New York, Tokyo and Miami. He has now settled back in Australia, selling out shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. His latest work, ‘Peoples and Places’, is showing at Melbourne’s Metro Gallery.
General Manager at The Cullen, Alicia Brown, says;
“The Cullen has always been a sanctuary for expressive art, which is why street art is such a great fit. It pushes the boundaries, like Adam’s work does, and really makes you think about the concept of what makes art. It’s such an honour to have such a revered artist leaving their mark one of our suites and adding to our growing street art collection.”
As you all know we a had a massive night Friday with four big openings in the one night.
VS was our second stop of the evening after TwoOnes show, and both Marc Huntington and Matt Griffith of ArtBoy Gallery did a great job in helping to put these two artists together in the same room!
With battle lines drawn, maps of the conflict and each section of the wall dedicated to a part of the ongoing struggle, the war of art was, we can say for a certainty, definitely a draw – or at least, a good dose of M.A.D.!! Kaitlin Becketts creatures, and Matt Stewarts urban warriors continue the ultimate struggle ….
Okay, it’s been a while – I havn’t had a lot of extra time away from covering shows and shit to get around to some of the columns that I enjoy doing, but I’m going to make a start by getting back into the Press Mill. Press Mill is our regular wrap of all the main stream press, blog and associated media articles surrounding street, graffit and underground art here in Oz, and NZ.
So, without further ado ….
The Trojan Petition was put up (more info here), and there was a bit of coverage, notably on ABC as well as here and on MACC and Vandalog (thanks for the shoutout!) *see below.
The CCTV cameras in Hosier lane have been a big issue lately, with both The Age and the Herald Sun reporting on it, as well as 3AW. There is also a really comprehensive run down on this over at MACC. Whatever your opinion on this is, or the many different sides, arguments and issues involved in it, one thing is agreed – there has to be a better way.
You’ve probably all heard of VandalTrak – it’s the system that the NSW police have put together that persecutes artists for pursuing their creativity. Here’s an interesting article on it all; just another cog in the continuing anti-artist surveillance and tracking behemoth.
Catch Father Bob and John Safran talking to Jacob Oberman and Adrian Doyle about Subtopia and street art this Sunday night on JJJ.
Well, that’s about all we have for this week, we’ll be back with more on the next round …
* Just as an aside on this article, we think RJ over at Vandalog misunderstood the targeting a little. The petition only used the NGV as a conduit to present itself to the respective governments, not that it was specifically targeted at the NGV. The NGV have, (in recent years), become quite great supporters of Melbourne street art. The “fine art establishments” that are mostly referred to in the link provided with the petition – http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/about_us/strategies_and_policies/funding_summary, ie Orchestras, Opera, Dance and questions why there is $0 funding for street art when it is ranked so highly, and other “fine art establishments”, which are not, receive millions upon millions of dollars. Perhaps this part of it could have been clearer. This was why the petition was delivered to the NGV, as CDH knew that they would regard the issues on the petition with the seriousness they deserved; and they did, by placing it in the gallery for several days.
Over the weekend, a petition was lodged to the NGV, City Of Melbourne and the State Government of Victoria on behalf of the a large number of Melbourne street artists and interested community members.
This petition was “signed” in the form of 20 painted panels on a constructed installation, and acknowledged by twenty artists who are practicing in Melbourne today.
The petition was placed at the National Gallery of Victoria, and was curated by activist and artist CDH as a part of his ongoing efforts to foster awareness, support and consideration by both the City Of Melbourne and the Victorian Government to major issues regarding street arts place in the community. The petition also brings attention to the highly discriminatory Graffiti Prevention Act (2007), which we believe has done little to address the issues of at hand, and now been proven highly ineffectual in dealing with the matter – instead, it has created an environment of confusion and misunderstanding within the public of street art and graffiti culture, further alienating the artists that express themselves via public art.
The Petition States:
“We didn’t say please. Does that void artistic merit?
Melbourne’s street art is consistently ranked among the top in the world [1-6], unlike any of Australia’s fine art institutions. Street art is also inherently egalitarian and freely accessible. However, rather than being endorsed with substantial tax payer subsidies [7] street art is actively stifled by the State Government; the Graffiti Prevention Act (2007) requires artists to providelawful excuse if caught carrying a graffiti implement (aerosol can, sharp object, pencil) and thus reverses the burden of proof, to a presumption of guilt [8,9].
For the State Government, propriety in street art begins and ends with property rights. We believe the hallmarks of urban neglect (extensive tagging, peeling paint, cracks) demonstrate an owner’s tacit indifference to a site’s appearance. Formal permission is unnecessary; it is already implied. Unsolicited mural painting of a dilapidated site doesn’t damage the property or the community aesthetic. As community stakeholders, civically minded citizens have a right to intervene to restore dilapidated sites, to the betterment of the community.
As we hold this alternate philosophical view on community enrichment, the State Government deems us vandals, criminalizes us and denies any cultural value or artistic merit in our efforts.
The full installation of the petition as a standing structure was, unfortunately not possible. Heavy security presence did not allow the artists to get the piece to its full standing position. That said, an administrator for the NGV allowed the petition to be delivered as a gift on the grounds of the NGV, thus fulfilling the primary aim of the project. What the NGV decides to do with this gift is something we will be keenly observing. Check out another run down on the installation over at Melbourne Art & Culture Critic.
Invurt are proud to support this petition. CDH did a remarkable job, and it has taken him many months of planning and coordination to bring it all together. It’s artists like him, who continue to promote and espouse the virtues of street art to wider audiences and who advocate its presence in our city, who give us hope of great things to come for street art in Melbourne.
We sincerely wish for the respective governments to read and consider this statement and petition. In light of other recent matters pertaining to Melbourne Street Art, including the recent controversial and lamentable proposal to install security cameras in Hosier Lane, we hope for vigorous engagement, feedback and input on the subject between both the respective governments and the street art community as a whole.
UPDATE #1 - A good friend of ours sent us this photo of the petition outside of the gallery this morning.
UPDATE #2 - The ABC has put an article up online about the Trojan Petition - you can read it here.
Update #3 - At first, according to the news article above, it appears as if the NGV had decided to just leave the petition outside, and have it removed. This afternoon, CDH met with the new director of the NGV, Tony Ellwood and the NGV Curator Of Australian Art, David Hurlston, to discuss the petition. The issue being that the NGVs charter states that it cannot accept gifts from living contemporary artists – which is a fairly valid convention, given that if they were to do so then they would surely be inundated with artwork that they wouldn’t be able to properly store and maintain. However, a possible solution was offered up and a compromise was agreed to.
As of 5pm Monday 10th September, the petition was moved inside and placed on temporary display inside the NGV – only, however, until Friday 14th September – technically it is now on loan to the gallery for several days and will then need to be removed.
(Excuse the phone cam image, we’ll have better ones soon)
If you’d like to see it best get down there to see the piece, it will be on display from Wednesday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, except Wednesday when the gallery is open until 9pm. This is a result we couldn’t be more pleased about, but its just a nice bit of icing on the top of a great project that we all hoped would bring awareness to the issues in the petition itself. The question is, will we now be hearing from either the CoM or the State Government? Wouldnt that be grand?
After the piece is removed from the gallery on Friday evening, the artwork will be auctioned off and any proceeds from its sale will be used to help kick start a micro-grant program for street artists here in Melbourne, an idea that a few people been kicking around for a while.
A big thankyou to the NGV for their support and consideration on both the issues purported on the petition, as well as their respect for the piece as a whole – especially David Hurlston and Tony Ellwood – welcome back to the ‘burn, Tony :)
It’s always sad to hear of the passing of a writer, but there is a joyous note in the memorials, homages and celebrations of life that follow their passing.
We first saw the RIP Dicknose tags popping up back in words March, and this was followed not long after by a whole slew of tribute posts and memorials across the web. One that we Melbourne particularly liked seeing was a memorial post by earnest Melbourne street art documenter, Alison Young. Like her, we’d become accustomed to seeing tags across Fitzroy, and it really was a surprise when we heard the news.
Thus, when we saw that DNs crew and friends were putting on a show to celebrate the life of this enigmatic vandal, we thought it a great chance to tell you all about it. Having not seen much of his creative output beyond his bombing, we’re really looking forward to seeing the show and a glimpse of the creative mind behind the tag.
“In memory of our late and great brother Dicknose. A night of celebration for the man who single handily took over Fitzroy.
Showcasing personal works from DN. A gold coin donation will see you get in the doors and enjoy one of Melbournes most notorious vandals.
On show will be sketches from Dicknose, literary works, poems and short stories, photos of DNs work in and around Melbourne, other random objects he sketched on.
We will be taking orders on the night for anyone that would like prints of his work, there will be 100 copies of a limited edition cd containing 3 tracks performed by Dicknose (spoken word recordings).
Light refreshments (Buffalo wings cos he loved em, and non alcoholic drinks, no alcohol to be consumed on the premises). Some old Hip Hop supplied by Paul Webb aka Paz, and a good night to remember our brother in crime. Get down and show your support to a brother we lost too early. RIP DICKNOSE 1981-2012 WE MISS YOU BRO!!!”
Looks like a great celebration to us, and we’re looking forward to checking it out and to pay our respects to the artist.
Dicknose Lives! RIP Dicknose!
Who: Dicknose and friends What: Dicknose Lives Where: Refills Melbourne, Ups tairs260 Brunswick st, Fitzroy, VIC When: Friday 29th June from 6pm til 9pm
ABOVE sent us some cool snapshots last night, involving some of his recent activities over in South Africa. Now, we don’t usually post all that much international content, but we’re bending the rules today. We could say it’s because ABOVE is currently somewhere in Oz right now, preparing for his next solo show, but, really, it’s a just really, really fucking cool story and we love his work.
"Africa has had a devastating history of blood diamond wars. Blood diamond refers to a diamond mined in a war zone and then sold to finance an invading army’s war efforts, usually in Africa where more than two-thirds of the worlds diamonds are extracted. This site specific social / political word play was painted on the exterior wall of Johannesburg’s largest diamond trader Jewel City.
Jewel City is a six-block mega-precinct that serves as a base for some 300 diamond traders as well as South Africa’s Diamond Board and State Traders Association. Jewel City is the largest diamond exporter in the southern hemisphere with over R7-Billion worth of Diamonds being exported every year.
I was able to get away with this diamond wall heist because I told the owners I would paint in big letters "Diamonds are a woman’s best friend" on the exterior of their building. The owners loved the idea and all quickly agreed.
The next day I had started painting but what the owners didn’t know is that I lied to them and was hijacking their wall. Like any premeditated robbery, situations are not what they seem and shit can flip from best friends to worst enemies in a few moments.
I assume the owners were too busy trading diamonds inside the mega centre they never took the time to come out and see I was painting a controversial word play about the diamond trade and how it’s fueled so much bloodshed in wars making it one of man’s worst enemies."
What an absolute cracker of a day down at Blender Studios last Saturday for their inaugural artists market. Positioned along both sides of the lane-way and framed with existing murals by local and international street artists (if you haven’t been to Blender Lane before you need to check out Melbourne Street Art Tours), vendors offered a diverse array of art, craft, stationary, zines, clothing, jewellery, cakes, cactii in teapots and much more.
Kick starting the day with a superb "Little Terror" coffee from Four Rascals – a brand-spanking new local coffee crew supplying cafes around Melbourne and popping up at various events (They even roast their own beans!). We then picked up a badge from Happy Maree (website coming soon) who have just released a collection of badges designed by Regan Tamanui (A.K.A. Ha-Ha). Also got some some cards from Baby Guerilla (for my lady) and issue one of Dailies, a collaborative comic art paper put out by Silent Army – classic shit.
Good vibes, funky live tunes filling the air and sunshine pouring down from the sky – can’t think of many better ways to kick off a long weekend in Melbourne.
We’ve been diligently following the Dregs crew as they try to raise funds for the completion of their documentary, and the final stretch is nearly in sight. With less than a grand and a half to go, they have almost met their target on Pledgeme. This is the final run – it ends later this week!
If you’re not aware, Dregs is a NZ street art documentary from Karl Sheridan and Cinzah Merkins, and it’ll be fanfuckingtastic!
"New Zealand has a rich and vibrant history of street art culture – a story that we believe is yet to be told. ‘Dregs’ will showcase how this underground art movement began and what it has evolved into today. It will go behind the scenes to expose this movement and the creative people driving it.
The documentary will include interviews with artists all over New Zealand in their personal studio spaces. It’ll also explore their personal lives and workplaces, to try and understand why these artists do what they do. ‘Dregs’ will aim to challenge the current prejudices against those who choose to create art with a spray can, examining the street scene with an impartial eye and portraying the art form as just that – a form of art.
There are currently over 25 of New Zealand’s most prolific, influential and forward-thinking street artists involved in the project. Redbull NZ and the Garage Project brewery are currently supporting the project. We hope to have it completed before the end of the year; over half of the content has been shot already. In order to do this we need to be able to dedicate a significant amount of time and money to post production.
We plan to take this documentary to national and international film festivals, as well as having Auckland and Wellington premiers – inviting everyone involved. We plan to put the money received from this campaign towards an editor, post production VFX (including titles and transitions), the final grade to be done at a professional post house, DVD creation and distribution and hire costs of premiering the film on the big screen."
Tis is one of those more than worthy times to send it off into the interweb ether … it’ll come back to you on a screen. You can help to get it over the line, and help these guys capture a unique snapshot of what has been happening in the NZ scene.
After last years Outpost Project, Shida headed off on his big global domination trek. Starting out in South East Asia, he did what he did best and painted up a storm – in some pretty gorgeous locations at that!
Here’s a couple of snapshots from his trip – we’re looking forward to seeing more as they come!!
Around this time last year, we did our first snapshot of some of the cool sites that we read on a frequent basis that deal with Australian and New Zealand art and other creative endeavours. Every day our editor, Facter, reads through a mountain of blogs and websites, looking for cool events, exhibitions and artists to speak to – it takes a lot of time and effort, mostly because there are so many great sites out there that follow Oz & NZ art – but its completely worth it!
Again, this is not a top of the top, nor an indication that if its not in this list then its not the best! There are just way too many sites out there for that we read through, and each one of them offers something different. Instead, this is just a small collection of some of the sites we’ve come across in the last year or so that have piqued our interest, and we thought we’d share them with you..
So, a huge thankyou to all the blogs from our list last year, and to all of our recent favourites listed here. Without all of your amazing efforts in documenting all of this cool shit, our day to day reading here at Invurt would be all the poorer …
Six Years Later Magazine – launching this year, Six Years Later is a fantastic print magazine, but their blog is also pretty damn cool. You should take a look at both, they’re equally worth the read.
Land Of Sunshine – well, you know him either from here with his monthly Top 10s, or from his awesome blog, Land Of Sunshine – in terms of coverage of Melbourne street art, Dean Sunshine is the man. With a wide range of collections, events and snaps from visiting artists, this is one of our definite go to blogs to check out whats been going up on the street.
T-Squat – These guys go from strength to strength. Editor and resident photographer James Watkins has a great eye for the eclectic, and though they cover everything from music to sports and everything in between, they also do great coverage on both established and emerging artists from around the globe. It’s a one stop feast.
Curvy – We love girls, and we love girls doing art, and we love girls writing about girls doing art … okay, you get the drift! Curvy celebrates all that is feminine and creative, and their blog is absolutely fantastic. With a great crew of bloggers behind the keyboard, and with plenty of inspiriting work pumping through the site, we head to Curvy on a regular basis.
Artygraffarti – new kid on the block, Arygraffarti, is really starting to get up there. With regular, frequent posts from his wandering around both Melbourne and other cities (when he gets there) this is a mint little low brow look at new stuff thats appearing. He also has a bit of event info on there of stuff happening around Melbourne, and its well worth adding to your reader feed.
Chasing Ghosts – these guys have been off on a sojourn around the globe for a while, but they’ve now settled back in Melbourne and have begun documenting and putting up great photosets on their bog as well as on flickr. With great attention to detail and a wonderful eye for not only the artwork, but its positioning and surrounding environment, these guys have it down.
Acclaim Mag – after a major site redesign sometime last year or so, Acclaims online presence and quality of content matches its print version. With everything street, urban, music and fashion related, if you’re into your all round street lifestyle, this is where you should be checking regularly – a great aussie based mag that we love!
Strutten – we adore this collective! Having only launched earlier this year, Strutten already have a loyal following, and we go to them for art and design related news up in Queensland. They have a great bunch of people posting, who are all collective artists themselves, and they also delve into the cafe and music culture. They love the city of Brisbane, and they’re great champions of what’s going on there. <3
The Opening Hours – The Opening Hours has their finger on the pulse up in Sydney, and more besides – both the photos and coverage of events is superb – this is our kinda blog!!
Disassociated – John Lampard does an amazing job at tracking events across the country, across all genres of art, with the Australian Art Show List. There’s also some great blogs posts on there outside of the event stuff, following film and other creative industry stuff – its very much worth a read.
Street Arse – of course, lots of love for the crews over in NZ, and Street Arse is our favourite. Shows, news and bits and pieces galore from the New Zealand street art scene.
Wellington Wall Street – and, still on the NZ tip, representing Wellington street art, heaps of great pics of work springing up in the city.
Stupidkrap – though a little quiet lately on the news front, Stupidkrap is a great site full of awesome content. Not only that, but their online store has a huge range of artwork and prints from all across Australia.
Dangerfork – speaking of prints and all things inked, another newcomer, Dankgerfork, has been carving a niche for itself down here in Melbourne. We can see these guys going a long way, and their recent popup store in Collingwood is a great testament to the quality of their work. Check back here often for all kinds of limited edition works from a bunch of wicked artists.
Project4000 – Have spent some time growing up in the Far North, we love anything coming out of Queensland, and Project 4000, along with Strutten, is our lifeline to what’s going on up there in Brisvegas. They follow a lot of streetwear orientated news, but their art and event coverage is also pretty cool and they have a bit on Brisbane street art here and there.
Philthosophy – this site maintains a running list of all the art happens in Melbourne, listed out per date. Theres a lot there, and she covers as much of it as possible in the lists – its a handy reference if you want to check out the creative life in the ‘burn!
Ironlak – well, this one is a no-brainer, really – just follow their blog, alright?
Special Mentions – International Blogs We Love
We do read a hell of a lot of international blogs as well, and though we don’t cover international stuff, well, we don’t need to – there are so many great places that do that already. These are just some of our favourites …
We hope you enjoy all of these blogs and websites as much as we do, and, if they have a facebook page, show them your support by liking them and following their efforts!!
We’ll be doing this roundup on a quarterly basis now, so if you have any sites you’d like us to check out that you think we’d love, just let us know.
Invurt webzine provides information on AustralAsian street, urban, illustrative, graffiti and other genre defying, nu-contemporary art to readers around the world. It specialises in events and artists who are working, displaying and visiting Australasia – particularly with a focus on exhibitions, live art and other events the artists are partaking in.
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