Just Another Gallery present Kirpy’s new show “Right Train Wrong Track” this Friday at The Baron Said. Back from OS Kirpy has some mad new work happening, check out this awesome video of his work at Revolver recently below.
From the Facebook page: “Right Train Wrong Track is a retrospective exhibition of months spent overseas discovering and exploring both foreign and familiar cities. Straying far from the typical tourist sights and sounds, Kirpy presents new work depicting a very personal perception of Berlin, New York and his home, Melbourne. Exposing each city through intricately detailed and layered stencils, Kirpy captures the distinct essence and character associated with each city.
Kirpy
The work presents the people, the graffiti and the unique experience of each city, also venturing underground to depict the veins of each metropolis – the train and subway systems.”
Who: Kirpy
What: Right Train Wrong Track
Where: The Baron Said – 83 Kerr Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065
When: Opens on Friday the 21st of June 6-9pm and runs until until Monday the 24th.
Another exciting announcement today. Our good friend Shaun Hossack, the founder of Juddy Roller Café and co-founder of the annual ILL-Logic Outdoor Art Exhibition, will open the doors to his new gallery “New Hunting Ground” with an awesome group show.
From the press release: “New Hunting Ground will open its doors for the first time at 7pm on Friday 21st June, 2013. The brand new street and contemporary art gallery is located in a unique warehouse space in one of Fitzroy’s last industrial laneways.
New Hunting Ground will showcase the best emerging and established talent from around the world. Located within Juddy Roller Studios, a well-known hub for both local and international artists, New Hunting Ground will draw together a varied selection of artists from an extensive global network, in an effort to expose the public to a highly varied range of works they may have otherwise never been exposed to.
New Hunting Ground is Directed by Shaun Hossack, the founder of Juddy Roller Café and co-founder of the annual ILL-Logic Outdoor Art Exhibition.
The first show, also called New Hunting Ground, will feature artists from Europe, Australia , Canada and the USA. The lineup includes John Aslanidis, E.L.K, Jaws (Da Mental Vapourz, Ears, Does (Love Letters), Adnate (AWOL), Taylor White, Max Berry, Nicole Reed and more. The full line-up can be viewed on the New Hunting Ground website. Sponsored by Asahi, Molotov, Somersby Cider.”
It’s a short one, but a grand one – once again EdInFocus gives us a cool look at some of the mad shit thats going on around the Juddy Roller complex with a timelapse from Jaws hitting Melbourne with his rad art.
"Jaws is a key member of Europe’s premier street art crew Da Mental Vaporz. He recently completed this mural in Fitzroy, Melbourne. Jaws will be exhibiting soon in a group show "New Hunting Ground".
New Hunting Ground will open its doors for the first time on Friday 21st June, 2013. The brand new street and contemporary art gallery space is located in a unique warehouse space in one of Fitzroy, Melbourne’s last industrial laneways."
We’ll have a bunch more news for you on the new New Hunting Ground gallery very shortly – it looks like it’ll be rad!
It’s hard to believe we’re at the end of May already. What an awesome year it has been so far, May was no exception. Dean brings us his favourite pieces for the month as usual, nice work Dean.
Love the Shida and Two piece and also the crazy LOV3 piece on the Collingwood silos, how the hell did EDOB do that? Awesome!
Another month goes by and another brilliant top ten from our good mate Dean Sunshine :) I always love getting Dean’s monthly email to see what goodness he’s found around Melbourne this month. An awesome selection as usual.
This post is something a little different to the norm. We ummm’ed and ahhhh’ed about the format for ages, should we transcribe it, should we make a video, should we edit it, should we chop it into smaller clips? We ended up deciding to just post it as is (with some work on the sound levels). It was such a special experience for us, it felt like we were watching a documentary.
To start off with, we have to thank Dean Sunshine. Dean took Futura on a street tour of Melbourne the day before. As you will hear, it was the best tour he’s done to date and he really loves Melbourne. He’s also a big fan of invurt which you’ll hear about too! Check out Dean’s photos from the day on his blog here.
We were called up for our turn, waiting in club 23 (which Hennessy had booked exclusively for Futura) at Crown.
It’s funny. We planned and planned this interview, and just before we sat down we heard Futura speaking to some other members of the press. He’s such a captivating speaker. Impromptu we decided we would just sit down and have a conversation with him. And while I had my list of questions handy, I didn’t have to ask one of them, Futura covered off basically every thing we wanted to ask.
It was possibly one of the most amazing conversations I’ve had with anyone from the scene, ever. I mean this man is a god father, he’s seen it all come and go and he’s still keeping it real.
We were also blessed to hear about the person behind the artist. We spoke intimately about his family and friends and some of his other passions; photography and exploring new cities.
Anyway, you’ll understand after listening! Kick back, grab a beer, have a listen and enjoy! Also check out the mad shots by David Russell below.
Well, what a fkn great way to start the year! Juddy Roller sure know how to put on a block party, and by the time we got down there in the early evening, Ill Logic 2013 was already bangin. Live art from Adnate, Choq and Blo (who has just recently returned from France) had everyone amped, and so did the tunes … and, well, there was some great cider and beer on offer.
We had an absolute ball, as did everyone else who was partying out in the street – this is how Melbourne street art is done! So much great work on the walls from Does, Eleven, Conrad Bizjak, Kaff-eine, E.L.K., Alastair Mooney, Choq, Blo, Lucy Lucy, Stormie Mills, Rick Sweden and Slicer. Thanks to Shaun and the whole crew for putting on a grand night!
Well, we’re back – after a really good rest (well, a parties, painting and pints kind of rest) we’re welcoming in 2013! We have a whole bunch of backlog to catch up on over the next few days, and some cool little things to get out to you, but, for now, we’re back on the exhibition tip with one of our favourite shows of any year …
For three years now, Juddy Roller have been playing host to one of our favourite events – Ill Logic. Taking a bunch of street artists, both internationally and locally, and re-painting the street surrounding the cafe, as well as painting large, cut out wooden boards for mounting upon the building, Ill Logic isn’t just a wonderful exhibition of works, its a showcase of the entire community, and a fun as hell night.
“Following last year’s successful exhibition that showcased both local and international artists in the areas of graffiti, stencil, paint, illustration, and video, ILL-Logic has followed through with another exciting event for 2013.
Join us Saturday, January 12th, 2013 for ILL-Logic 2013, an urban styled art exhibition featuring art, installations, video-mapping and DJ’s.
The 3rd annual ILL-Logic welcomes acclaimed street artist Does, the return of DMV crew’s BLO, large-scale sculpture/installation by Alastair Mooney, and new works by E.L.K., Choq, Adnate, Kaffiene, Eleven, Lucy Lucy, Conrad Bizjak and more.
Drinks, DJ’s art and live painting by Adnate (AWOL) and BLO (DMV).”
Check out this awesome little preview video for the event below.
Can’t wait for this one, what an awesome way to greet the New Year and to start off what we think will be the best year yet for Melbourne street art and beyond!!
Who: Does, E.L.K., Alastair Mooney, Choq, Blo, Adnate, Kaffiene, Lucy Lucy, Stormie Mills, Rick Sweden, Eleven, Conrad Bizjak and Slicer What: Ill logic Where: Juddy Roller, When: Event will be held on Saturday January 12th 2013, from 8pm.
Check out the Juddy Roller facebook page for more info on the event!
Well, as we wrap up our year, we have Dean Sunshines last Top 10 of Melbourne street art for 2012.
Its been an amazing year for Dean, with the launch of his book Land Of Sunshine he’s been one hell of a busy man – but we’d like to especially give him some kudos for all of his continuing support, his always touching advocacy for what we do and for being an all round grand mate – oh, and for all the damn pics that he takes!
Well, after a hugely successful book launch (which you should really go and buy a copy of), Dean Sunshine is back with another Top 10 for us all – which contains, of course, all of his favourite shots from around Melbourne last month.
So many of his previous Top 10s ended up in the book itself – loved it – and we wonder, in the future, which of these may end of in another edition one day. That all said, man, there has been some awesome work around the streets of Melbourne lately … thanks Dean!
Dean Sunshine has been a pretty busy man of late, what with getting his book, Land Of Sunshine, ready to launch and all. We’ve missed his Top 10s over this busy period of his, but he’s back with his favourite work from around the Melbourne streets in the past month.
Check out Deans picks for what he thought was great around the ‘Burn during October, and keep an eye out for the book – Ive seen it, and held it in my hands, and it is fkn fantastic.
1. AWOL – North Melbourne 2. Heesco – Windsor 3. Eko Nugroho Hosier lane 4. Makatron – Fitzroy 5. Daf Cru NZ -Union lane CBD 6. El Seed – Hosier Lane 7. Kaff-eine – Prahran 8. ELK – Fitzroy 9. Calm – Prahran 10. Klara – Brunswick
Collingwood and Fitzroy, both a part of City Of Yarra, are two neighbouring suburbs whose name have become almost synonymous with Melbourne street art, and, indeed Australian street art. Chances are, if you visit Melbourne and have a passion for art, you’ll find yourself heading there almost immediately. Unfortunately, the magic of spontaneous, unsanctioned street art and graffiti may be a critically endangered in the area under a new “draft” graffiti management plan that was launched last Tuesday.
Funnily enough, in the same week, we were confronted with yet another image of one of Melbournes most iconic walls, the Leicester st art wall, buffed and destroyed. The Leicester street art wall had stood as an outdoor gallery of iamges for almost twenty years (with a piece from MERDA and KABS from back in the 80s existant upon it). It was also well known for its stencils, with many that had been created during the stencil hey-day of the early 2000s – irreplaceable shit. That the wall was allowed to be buffed is a terrible thing – furthermore, that it was allowed to be buffed, and then “Poster boards” which allow companies such as Plakkit etc, to place advertising upon it, is even worse.
Basically, in my view, an iconic wall with historical art upon it was allowed to be buffed so that advertising space could be placed there instead. Nice work.
Once upon a time this wall was art – image via Dean Sunshine
Interesting timing, though, perhaps?
Over the past few months, the City of Yarra has been consulting with a company who has been writing up a report for graffiti “management” “Off The Wall”. That company, Capire, promised to try and look at all aspects of the issue, and even consult with artists and other creatives, not just those who were opposed to street art. They even held an event last week (Tuesday 23rd October) to showcase the new policy, followed by a “tour” of local street art.
Alas, I wasnt able to get out of work to attend this “launch”, but after having spoken to several people about the meeting as well as the new report, the opinion is, overwhelmingly, that it falls very short, and is quite regressive in aim. Speaking in plain english, which you all understand, its sounds shithouse. I’ll also preface this whole tirade by saying that I haven’t as yet seen the report, and have only garnered comments from those who were at the briefing.
From all accounts, it appears as if the input from artists and other like minded people have not been taken into consideration with the report, whatsoever, and it is a complete re-hash of everything we have heard before. For such a vibrant area such as Yarra to go backwards in terms of policy is not a good thing, and we were all hoping for something more understanding, and less recalcitrant. Where once Yarra felt like a progressive council in terms of street art, we now find recommendation harkening back to the 90s and a low tolerance attitude. Isn’t this 2012? Haven’t we moved forward since 1992? I guess not.
The first sign of the shift in attitude in City Of Yarra, and possibly one of the worst decisions the council has made in terms of graffiti management, was the closure of Napier studios in 2010. Napier studios was a haven, mentoring project and helping hand for youth who were particularly interested in graffiti and street art culture (their website is now gone, but here is some info on OnlyMelbourne). Napier studios ran for many years, and was guided along by none other than Adrian Doyle – who did so much for the youth in Yarra that its not funny, but, was ultimately shafted when Yarra decided to shut down Napier studios. Allegedly, it was budget cuts were the reason for Yarra closing Napier, which is kind of funny, becasue now there is an increase in graffiti in the area, which is costing more money to clean up than every before …
Adrian Doyle heard about all of this, and posted the following comment to his facebook page:
“Napier Studios street art program was shut down in 2011 here is the graffiti statistics from then until now….
‘Requests for graffiti removal from private property increased in Yarra from 2500 in 2010-2011 to over 4000 in 2011-12.’
Seems like the City of Yarra made a very expensive mistake shutting down Napier Studios…..”
Costly indeed. Funny that the increase in graffiti marks the end of Napier and other youth projects – funnily also, apparently there was no mention of Napier studios at the forum – I wonder if it will appear in the report, and, if not, why – and, if so, is it being pointed to as a part of a solution that once worked?
The great thing is, is that Adrian Doyle is still doing amazing things with youth around Melbourne – it sounds like the City Of Melbournes Signal, where he has moved his services to, is doing great things. Very much along the lines of what Napier accomplished – and we absolutely love Signal, its such a positive thing that CoM is doing with it all, and we hope it has a much long life. Yarra really fucked up a good thing with Napier studios, and it looks as if they are now heading down the treacherous path of fucking it up even more. Indeed, there could very well be some correlation, as Adrian Doyle says, between their cutting funding to youth art practices in the area, and the increase in graffiti – but all of that seems to be, conveniently, absent from this new report. Perhaps they could do some research into that and some analysis as to how much Napier helped things?
The closing of Napier Studios seems, now, in retrospect, a harbinger of what may be to come.
From my perspective, this whole draft recommendation (that, again, I haven’t seen) looks be be driving yet another nail into an already crucified outlook on street art tolerance in the City of Yarra. Call me a bit paranoid, but it was also funded by the Victorian Department Of Justice – you know, the guys who helped put the Graffiti Prevention Act of 2007 in place. You know, the one that hasn’t worked or been effective in any way, shape or form. That act that for some reason has stood for fives years whilst being highly discriminatory, anti-art, and which reverses the burden of proof from innocent until proven guilty, to guilty of an offence if you even deign to carry a can of spray-paint near public transport. The one that turns artists into criminals on par with rapists and violent offenders.
Specifically, the funding for all of this came as a part of the Graffiti Prevention and Removal Graffiti Grants Program from the Victorian Governments Community Crime Prevention Program – titles which already put things on a back foot; these policies have nothing to do with art, these are programs that further the mindset of treating graffiti and street artists as dangerous criminals.
I wasn’t exactly sure if my writing about any of this would really do much good, and as I wasn’t able to attend Tuesdays meeting myself I didn’t feel in a position of being able to formulate an opinion on it all. Firstly, though, I saw a post from Black Mark about the meeting over at his website, Melbourne Art & Culture critic – he stated:
“The review was focused on prevention and removal of graffiti. There was no idea about what the implementation of a graffiti management policy would actually look like on the street. The review did not have a cost benefit analysis; the cost of the current graffiti management policy compared to the financial benefits to City of Yarra in terms of visitor numbers or businesses that are based on graffiti scene.
The review appeared to be based on a naïve belief held by many people in local government that a distinction can be made between good and bad graffiti, between street art and tagging.”
So, for all its research and all of its “new thinking” this report also appears as if it holds on to the same “distinctions” that are miring any progression in “graffiti management”. So, pretty much, again, the council goes “Oh this picture is pretty, thats okay” and “oh, this picture/tag is ugly, lets buff it and charge the offender” – well, lets then say that I hate the picture, and yet I love the tag – why remove the tag that I, as a member of the public love, but leave some shitty piece of “street art” that I hate? Can the council make that decision for me? Who amongst them is qualified to judge art on such a level? Do these people, in this modern age, where a tagged painting by someone like Retna can go for thousands of dollars, really know what modern art is, and isn’t? It’s the whole “I love that street art stuff but hate that graffiti shit” load of crap that we keep seeing over and over and over again.
This whole thing seems to have gone down a well trodden road of typical graff vs street art; not only is this same argument boring, but it hasn’t worked in the past and it wont work now. No, I don’t know the solution (thats up to all of us working together to find out), but pitting two elements of the same thing (they both go up on fkn walls!) does not add up to a “policy”, it hasn’t worked in the past and surely, with all this money being thrown around to write the damn thing, some different approaches other than the same old shit could have been applied.
After reading Marks post, I then saw Alison Young post up on her facebook.
For those of you who do not know Alison Young, she is a researcher and criminologist, and has been researching presenting and writing papers and writing about street art in metropolitan areas for a good long time – there are several “authorities” on these matters whose opinions I agree with and trust when it comes to well researched opinions at this level, and Alison is amongst them. She was also present at the meeting to launch “Off The Wall” earlier this week.
Alison has kindly allowed us to re-publish her notes and breakdown on what she heard about the new draft policy for the report, and, I’m sad to to say it, but the outlook seems pretty bleak for street art and graffiti in the City Of Yarra.
Alison writes:
“The key points:
Requests for graffiti removal from private property increased in Yarra from 2500 in 2010-2011 to over 4000 in 2011-12. This figure appears to indicate ratepayer dislike of graffiti. (More significantly, it indicates a massive increase in the graffiti removal expenditure for Yarra.) Is there increased ratepayer dislike of graffiti? Not necessarily – the figures indicate only those who dislike it enough to want it removed; they don’t speak to the proportion of residents/traders who either don’t mind it or actually like it. However, vocal minorities of ‘concerned citizens’ or simply those who ring up council like this are usually the constituents who influence policy-making.
The Report (which is with Council, though not yet finalised) is called ‘Off the Wall’ which indicates the flavour of the approach!
The Policy: influenced by the Dept of Justice framework for graffiti management which emphasises its criminality (ie they use the Graffiti Prevention Act definition to frame graffiti as a crime unless done with permit or with consent). The policy recommends an approach equally divided between prevention, removal and enforcement. Any kind of ‘engagement’ has been downgraded. ‘Youth programs’ and ‘working with artists’ appear as an aspect of prevention. Both of these would direct artists/writers towards legal murals. Examples at the briefing were shown in a talk by the Dept of Justice speaker of good mural projects – old-fashioned 80s-style ‘civic’ murals.
So: prevention includes: legal walls, permit systems, youth programs, crime prevention through environmental design, maintaining a database of permitted works so that works without permission can be targeted for removal. Removal: rapid removal policies, prioritised removal policy, kits for residents. Enforcement: ‘partnerships with police’, and the maintenance of a database that could be given to police for ‘enforcement purposes’.
In the ‘guiding principles’ for the report, the consultants listed: criteria to determine ‘good’ and ‘bad’ graffiti . This was explained in the session – ‘bad’ is tagging, works done without permission; ‘good’ is work done with permission.
The policy is claimed to be based on consultation, context, comparison with other municipalities, and academic literature.
But: No evidence that the academic literature had any effect on the policy that is promote (it can’t have, otherwise the policy would be differently worded, recognizing that some form of active and meaningful engagement is essential in order to avoid antagonising the community of people doing graffiti and street art).
Further: little consultation. The consultants spoke to a number of people working for other councils, and to some individuals (including an academic and some artists, who expressed very different views to those taken in the policy). No public/community consultation. Surely Yarra should consult before adopting such a policy?
Further: comparison with other municipalities. This is important in that one graffiti management policy can often have displacement effects into another municipality, so it’s important for the consultants to speak, as they did, to Darebin and Melbourne and others nearby. However, the consultants also drew on advice from councils such as Stonnington and Knox, where the local community is extremely different from the one in Yarra.
Context: there was no recognition of the specific context that we find in Yarra, where we have streets like Brunswick St or Smith Street, in which graffiti and street art play very significant parts of the aesthetic and economic vitality of the area ie become key parts of an area’s character (there’s research on urban character that looks at Fitzroy, in which graffiti is mentioned by residents as an important part of the area’s character).
Apparently the report is with council, and I imagine there is a small window in which people could make their views know to Yarra (or perhaps with a phonecall/email to Dick Wynne, MP based in Collingwood). Let people know what the policy involves.
If you are concerned about the impact such a policy might have on suburbs like Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond, it’s important to indicate to Yarra that people locally and in the arts community generally will push back if such a policy is adopted, and that there may be negative consequences for the area’s vitality if it is adopted.”
For those of you who want to help do something about this before it is too late, contact City Of Yarra and voice your concerns.
Alison also weighed in on the aforementioned graffiti vs street art/art vs vandalism issues, and said it really well -
“I’ve written … about tagging and the value that I think it can have… I have to say that I’m a property owner, and that there are many occasions when I do think tagging is an art (I give some examples in those earlier blog posts). I also recognise that tagging is closely connected to (and inseparable from) those forms of street art and graffiti deemed ‘acceptable’ by those who dislike tagging (or murals or ‘pieces’). Sometimes I wish that a tagger had chosen a different placement for a tag; sometimes it’s just part of contemporary city life. Any property owner who doesn’t like tags is of course free to remove them from their property or seek help in removing them. But I don’t think that that view should be imposed upon those of us who do recognise the connection between tags and street art.”
Exactly – government bodies need to stop actually lumping people together, and maybe actually do some unbiased research into peoples opinions, instead of just going “tag bad, pasteup of cute girl with kite good” – where are the statistics to back this up? What kind of testing and research was conducted to arrive at the opinion that “tags are vandalism”? Show us the numbers, and show us the statistics, and show us the demographics of who was spoken to – I’d really love to see the raw data from this forthcoming report.
There’s little doubt in my mind that this “imposed viewpoint” that is pushed on communities further exacerbates the issue. Automatically, if you put artists on the back foot, they will rail against the authoritarianism – councils and governments have set up this “war” and they created their own opponent, a focal point to rail against, something to argue about, to show they’re doing a “civic duty” in fighting it and all the whilst they have not, actually, been able to stop it. Oh, and lets not even talk about all the “graffiti removal” contracts that are existant – have these admitted “multimillion” dollar contracts been factored into this report at all? Thats a lot of money being made by someone off the removal of what many probably deem as art. How are these contracts awarded, exactly?
On a closing note, I’d like to go on the record, and I’d like to propose a change in tack. I think that new directions in formulating policies and laws around street art and graffiti could possibly be enacted with respect for all parties concerned, if we changed a simple word that is well and truly over used in government rhetoric.
Prevention.
There is, and never will be, any real way to prevent unsanctioned work going up on walls, in any local area, in any city, in any country. Like the “War On Drugs”, policies and edicts that utilise these kinds of negativity espousing words continue to fail, and graffiti, rather than be lessened, continues to rise. Are councils so worried about “saving face” that they wont go as far as to examine the actual words that they use for these issues, and subscribe to new ones that may actually stop pitting artist against councils, and furthering the extraordinarily costly “war on graffiti”? (Millions of taxpayers dollars to buff walls across all these cities – shit! Give me a million dollars instead and I will show you a painted city of art unlike any seen before!)
So, to end, I just say here, right now, that “management”, “deterrent” and ”prevention” when it comes to graffiti and street art are all outdated concepts. Prevention is for the naive – the “war on graffiti” was lost before it began. Be brave, councils, step forward and admit it -
I really think its time us to all start talking about graffiti mitigation.
Editors note:
For a long time I have steered clear of posting too much up here on Invurt that contains too much of a “political” or opinionated nature. As of today, thats changed. I do have an opinion. I am an advocate for street art/graffiti. I want to see walls painted, not artists arrested for merely carrying spraycans. I’d like to see governments and local councils give something back to the artists who beautify their cities – even if it is purely a modicum of respect for what they do, and not continuing hypocrisy.
So, this is a new column – and I’m going to use it to spout tirades, talk shit, probably write too much and actually tell people how I feel about it all. If you don’t like it, say so. If you don’t agree, comment. If you have an opinion, make it known and contribute to the conversation. Not everyone will agree with me on these things – and thats exactly how it should be. I hope that by sharing some of the knowledge I have and that is shared with me on a number of issues relating to art in the public space, that people can be informed enough to be able to make their own opinion. Debate is healthy, and if you know me, you know that I love a good debate. If you particularly feel passionate about something, and want to write about it, do it and send it to us, and we’ll probably put it up – affirmative or opposing, all opinions matter.
I admit to feeling a little wary of entering into these waters here on Invurt, but hey, too late now …
Several weeks ago, we got wind of a new project that was being put together by Coopers (admittedly, one of our favourite brands of amber liquid) that was featuring legendary Chicago artist, Pose. Of course, our curiosity was most definitely piqued, and we decided to see if we could track the man down and get a little more info behind his recent visit down here to Oz for the Life After Dark project.
Pose is well known for his craft across the world – starting out in his native Chicago, he crisscrossed the gamut of experiences that a graffiti artist working within a notorious anti-graffiti city had to deal with. From the illegal work of his youth, and his many hours spent honing his style against the adversity that comes with territory, to now being a name prominently acknowledge amongst global art circles, there is no doubt that he is an influential and integral part of the global graffiti community – a perfect fit for a project such as this.
"Inspired by Australia’s night owls, the underground and those that rise at the demise of daylight, Pose’s Life After Dark installation is a world-first in street art, handcrafted using luminous paint that literally comes to life after dark.
The Chicago-based artist collaborated with the country’s largest remaining Australian-owned brewer, Coopers, to create the unique artwork in celebration of their cult dark brew – Coopers Dark Ale.
Similar to how Coopers Dark Ale is handcrafted using the finest ingredients; Pose’s Life After Darkinstallation was handcrafted using a collection of special ingredients including the debut use of luminous UV paint. By day the installation appears to be a blank canvas, yet transforms by night to reveal an eclectic mix of images reflecting Australia’s creative and artistic underbelly.
From conception to completion, the art installation handcrafted in Coopers hometown of Adelaide, was months in the making before being shipped to Melbourne for display. The Life After Dark installation pays homage to the night’s musicians, mixologists, rhymers, riders, writers and midnight marauders who truly love what they do."
We were also, very happily, able to connect with Pose over the last few days and were able to throw a few questions over to the man himself about what he’d been up to in his recent stay down here in Melbourne.
Read on for a short interview we did with the man himself, a bunch of images and all the videos from the project – including the final video wherein all has been revealed!
How did you become involved in the Coopers Life After Dark project, and what lead you to painting down here in Oz?
Although Australia is on the other side of the globe from me, it’s a small world and like-minded people always have connections.
The collaborative artwork between myself and Coopers Dark Ale pays homage to the night owls and underground communities.
We heard you used some fairly different techniques for this project, could you elaborate a little on the mediums that you used that made the piece unique?
Yeah, this was my first time ever using invisible UV paint, and I’m pretty sure it never been used for a campaign like this as well. So there was a ton of experimentation and a ton of challenges, but as they say the greater the risk the greater the reward.
It was really tricky cause I’m used to using really bold one stroke mediums for my line work, like black spray paint on a white wall or black animation paint on a white surface. For this you are essentially painting blind in daylight, the UV paint is basically white and I was painting my line work on top of that with white paint.
Needless to say, it was a crazy experiment but payed off well in the end.
What was the most challenging aspect of this project for you, and even within the confines of the brief, were you able to sufficiently imbue the project with enough of your own creative spark to keep you happy? Is this ever a challenge for you when doing commercial projects?
It can be really challenging doing commercial work if a client is heavy handed with their feedback or agenda. Many times they don’t really understand that its way more successful and authentic to let me do my thing rather than me being their hired help. I don’t mind doing commercial work if I’m hired to do my thing and I dig what the clients about, its when they want me to fake my style for their thing that it gets into murky water.
That said, I really enjoyed working with Coopers because they let me do my thing, and were totally open to things I thought they might be scared of. For a 150-year-old family brand to tell me to just go for it, was insane. Also, I really dig the brand and how they approach their craft, so the whole thing was killer.
Were you able to get much of a taste for Melbourne culture whilst you were down here? What were your impressions of the city, and how did you enjoy painting in Fitzroy during your visit?
Although my time was short I did get to hook up with local friends, eat well, paint, run around and party so I had a blast.
Overall, I was blown away with the scene in Melbourne, Not just the Graff and art, but the food, street fashion and overall attitude was rad. I felt right at home with everyone I met and completely energized by the scene, I will definitely be making it back out soon.
Now that you’ve returned home to Chicago, what’s next on the agenda for you, and what projects will you be hitting up?
Way to much to mention but as far as gallery work, I am trying to wrap up a bunch of commissions and am working on a solo show with Sanrio/Hello Kitty at known gallery for the release of the “Hello Kitty Hello Art” book, as well as two man show With Revok at Jonathan Levine Gallery, which will be epic.
Such a great addition to the Melbourne graffiti and street art presence. Check out the final video from the project above, as well as the Life After Dark website – and a big thanks to Pose for his time!
We’ve been following Cameron Brideoak since before he moved over here to Melbourne from Adelaide recently, and since arriving he has already started showing some work. Now, he teams up with friends Creature Creature for a showing of work at the Brunswick Street Gallery, and it looks pretty cool.
"Cameron Brideoake and CREATURE CREATURE Illustration (Ambrose Rehorek and Chanel Tang) have collaborated to put on their latest show entitled NO FACE at Brunswick Street Gallery. From collaborative works on wood, to paintings, prints and skateboard decks, this show promises to be unforgettable.
If you saw some of Cameron, Ambrose and Chanel’s entries in the BSG Small Works exhibition recently, now is your chance to see a whole show of their work."
Apparently the artists will have a big collaborative artwork adorning the entryway of the gallery as well – sounds intriguing! If you haven’t seen these artists works yet then now is a great chance to see some really great art as it emerges – head down to BSG this Friday to catch it all for yourself.
Who: Cameron Brideoak and Creature Creature What: No Face exhibition Where:Brunswick Street Gallery, 322 Brunswick St, Fitzroy When: Show opens Friday 27th July from 6pm and runs til 9th August.
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
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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