Ironlak and Published ArtHouse presents Linz, Reals, Sofles, Meks, Sauce, Tues, Vans the Omega & Treas in ‘Veil of Anonymity’.
From the press release “The title ‘Veil of Anonymity’ is somewhat ambiguous in itself. While graffiti artists seek to be seen and appreciated, there is often a disconnection between a writer’s nom de plume and their personal self. Masking their identity in an effort to maintain a ‘Veil of Anonymity’ from prying eyes.
In a national first, the Australian Ironlak Family have come together to exhibit new works at Published ArtHouse – 11 Canon St in Adelaide for what will no doubt be a truly incredible showcase of talent.
The opening reception runs from 6-10pm on Friday 1st March. And the exhibition will continue on Saturday & Sunday between 11am- 6pm.”
Ironlak – Veil of Anonymity Exhibition flyer
Who: Ironlak family (Linz, Reals, Sofles, Meks, Sauce, Tues, Vans the Omega & Treas)
What: Veil of Anonymity
Where: Published ArtHouse – 11 Canon St in Adelaide
When: Opens 6-10pm on Friday 1st March runs through to Sunday 3rd March at 6pm.
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!
Seasons Of Change is one of our favourite series of shows here in Melbourne, and, now with the series into their second year, it’s still going strong, bringing graff infused art in all it’s glory to the southside
Couple the strength of this series with the next “Summer” iteration this Friday night, which will be showcasing the infamously talented and globally renowned SDM crew, and you have of a one night extravaganza of pure fkn grand.
“SDM was seen as one of the main driving forces in Melbourne’s graffiti scene in the late 1990′s and early 2000′s.
They are known for elaborate full colour productions with a huge diversity in styles from member to member. Everyone in the crew has a different perspective, so an SDM production always stands out as something completely unique to the standard Melbourne style.
Responsible for Melbourne’s infamous first full colour top-to-bottom whole train and the epic SDM between South Yarra and Richmond stations which is still one of the biggest pieces in Melbourne.
The crew was also selected to take part in the recent NGV mural event at Fed Square last year.
Members recently won the best production category for the Aus/New Zealand region in the Ironlak 2008, 2010, 2012 competitions and were selected to compete in the 2008 ‘Write For Gold’ graffiti competition.
The crew is still as strong now than it ever was, with most members going on to take their craft to the next level. With members spread around Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney as well as London, Hong Kong, LA and San Diego.”
Head down to Prahran this Friday night to check it all out for yourself – if you have any interest in both the history, and the future of Melbourne graffiti, you’ll be there.
Who: SDM Crew What: Seasons of Change – Summer Where: Revolver Upstairs, Chapel St, Prahran, VIC When: Show opens Friday 7th December, from 6pm til 9pm – one night only!!
This looks all kinds of awesome, really. Wollongong has a grand weekend ahead as a bunch of talent and some of Australias finest street artists descend on the city to paint, talk and exhibit.
“We are proud to announce a project we have been working on with Verb Syndicate in Wollongong.
WONDERWALLS is a three day art festival presented by The Hours, Verb Syndicate and Ironlak, featuring some of Australia’s most well known Low Brow artists. The weekend of the 9th – 11th of November we will be hosting an exhibition, an exclusive panel discussion AND a series of small & large scale murals being painted around the Wollongong CBD.
If you’re in Wollongong, come join us on the weekend. If you’re from Sydney, it’s only a short drive down the coast. Come for the day, stay for the weekend. Enjoy three days of Australia’s best street and graffiti art, absolutely free.
Three days of checking out great art, great artists and also having the chance to hear them talka bout their work and what inspires them – lucky ‘Gong! Theres a heap more info on the flyer below for all the details, plus a lot of info, times and locations on the map thats on their website. Nice.
Who: Rone, Meggs, Yok, Sheryo, Numskull, Beastman, Phibs, Roach, Thomas Jackson, Jumbo, Ears, Vans the Omega, Jae Copp, Two One, Bridge Stehli, Pudl, Cam Scale, Bafcat, Katse, Skulk. What: Wonderwalls street art festival Where: Check the flyer above or the map ont he website for all the locations. When: Friday 9th November til Sunday 11th November. Check the website or flyer above for all the details and times for the various events and painting sessions.
Tonight brings more cool shit! As a part of Semi-Permanent in Brisbane, Benjamin Reeve has curated a side show of fairly grand proportions – taking music laden talent and combining it with visual creatives.
"BACK AND FORTH is an ART exhibition that pitches a number of Australian visual artists alongside some of Australia’s most exciting DJs in a collaboration that celebrates the culture and tradition of the mix-tape."
Big THANKS to the guys from Laced and Ironlak. Curated by Benjamin Reeve for The Bureau."
We’ve also been seeing some work in progress shots of the stuff that Gimiks Born and Beastman have been doing – and its fkn rad.
Head down tomorrow night to see it all!
Who: BEN ELY (Regurgitator, Pangaea… etc, Mark Drew -(SYD/TOKYO, Slurpee Slug (SYD, Amy Longworth (BRIS, Jesse Olsen (BRIS, Drew Bickford (SYD) – Installation piece: BEASTMAN (SYD) and GIMIKS BORN (BRIS) DJ’s: SAMPOLOGY, DJ KATCH (Resin Dogs, CUTLOOSE, SLYNK, DJ BACON, DJ BUTCHER What: Back & Forth Semi Permanent group show Where: Blake House, 35 Adelaide Street, Brisbane When: Thursday 30th August from 8pm til late!
I mean, dear god damn look at that list of artists – aMBUSH Gallery keeps setting the bar for some amazing shows, and, teaming up with Doctor Dboe their next show is a cacophonic array of black and white imagery – our favourite!
“Faced with the challenge of stark simplicity, 67 Australian and international artists known for their vibrant, technicolour flair have come together to form Black & White All In Between, aMBUSH Gallery’s latest star-studded exhibition of 2012.
The parameters of Black & White All In Between are basic: to create works uniform in size and using only black ink. Proposed to a diverse range of illustrators, fine artists, street legends and graffiti greats, the concept removes the comfort of colour from the artists’ process and challenges them to develop work driven by composition, form and tone. Not only a chance to see a collection of work by some of the world’s most exciting contemporary artists, Black & White All In Between presents audiences with an opportunity to own that work. The high quality pieces are all priced affordably, accessible art being a priority of both aMBUSH Gallery and Black & White’s curator, Dion Zancanaro.
Join aMBUSH on Friday 31 August in celebrating the launch of Black & White All In Between, catered by Arvo Beer and ABSOLUT Vodka, with live music performed by DJs Paper Plane Project, Raine Supreme and DPHY.”
From the simple things, come some of the best things – and this show will be no exception. 100 shades of black and white, indeed. Again, read that list below and you’ll get why we wish we could be there.
Who: Aldous, Amuse One, Anthony Lister, Askew, Beastman, Bei Badgirl, Ben Frost, Bennett, Bridge Stehli, Brooklyn Whelan, Cpho, Daniel Farrell, Days, Dboe, Deb, Desta, Does, Drew Funk, Dvate, Edward Woodley, Erin Forsyth, Flutter Lyon, Gimiks Born, Hekups, Jesse Brookis, Jodee Knowles, Joel Sammut, Jorzz, Josh Roelink, Jumbo, Kade, Ken Taylor, Kpish, Luca Ionescu, Mark Drew, Nathan Pickering, Numskull, Ozer, Paris, Perso, Phew, Phibs, Phil James, Pigeon Boy, Pudler, Peque Vrs, Rj Williams, Roach, Ronstoppable, Rotes, Sam Silverstone, Scale, Sektor, Set, Simon Lovelace, Skel, Snarl, Sprinkles, Tarns, Teazer, Thomas Jackson, Vans The Omega, Vexta, Water, Well Dressed Vandals, Will Lynes, Yok What: Black & White All In Between Where:aMBUSH Gallery, 4a James Street, Waterloo, Sydney When: Show opens Friday 31st August from 6pm til 9pm and runs until September 4th
This is sure to be one of the biggest shows in Brisbane this year – well, in our eyes anyways. From the man who has worked for over twenty years on walls across the country, and who has mastered the brush with just as much finesse, Lee Harnden, aka Linz, comes “Catharsis”
“Lee Harnden’s Catharsis is an exhibition of subversive explorations; a collection of portrayals that transcend the divide between Australian street culture and the grandeur of fine art.
As LINZ, an internationally acclaimed and Ironlak-sponsored graffiti writer with a career now spanning 20 years, Harnden’s movements have aligned him with celebrated Australian musicians, artists and sporting personalities. These figures, along with some closer to his heart, form the pith of his work; a realism characterised by the heightened juxtaposition of subject and technique.
There is a brutal honesty in Harnden’s work. While highlighting the rawness of gangland imagery he affords a sentimentalist portrayal of integrity and soul in each of his oil paintings. He achieves a unique exactitude through the medium but also draws upon a tremendous amount of depth, claiming more than a simple connection with his subjects.
Although some figureheads he depicts fall short of the limelight in the popularised mainstream, the romantic undertone of Harnden’s perception is revealed as every character he paints is essentially a hero in his eyes.
In his time and place, Lee Harnden is a catalyst of ‘subterranean representation’. Unfortunate for him as it is for many true artisans, his work will speak volumes much louder in generations yet to come.”
Not even the fact that Ironlaks “Linz Iceberg” is one of my favourite colours to paint with can compete with how incredible this show is going to be. The man is a living graff legend, and his work on canvas shines just as fkn bright as his work up on the walls.Oh yeah, kick ass fkn venue too.
Go.
Who: Lee Harnden (Linz) What: Catharsis solo show Where:Lightspace, 30 Light Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane When: Show opens Friday 17th August from 6:30pm til 10:30pm – ONE NIGHT ONLY.
Yeah, Sunday, not Thursday. I haven’t had much time to write stuff during the week this week due to other commitments, so Sundays look like my new get shit done days. First up, of course, is our slightly late run down on everything that’s been happening in the world of videos across the web.
Watch on for some great art from the streets of Melbourne, to the galleries of Sydney and beyond.
We put out a small video this week of us doing a few walls and shit in the leadup to our show opening last Friday, hope you enjoy it!
Love this – Ironlak just got up a great video of Sofles, Tues and Palms doing a bunch of work in LA last year. Perfect.
POSE has been down here recently doing some kind of secret project with Coopers – here are the first two videos from the project – looking forward to seeing more!
Fresh Aussie hiphop, live painting sesh, giveaways and free food – need we say more?
"Our homie Jake Biz has a new 7" vinyl about to drop titled ‘DEUCE DEUCE’ and Crush City has the pleasure of hosting the official Release Party. Jake will be rocking tracks from the release and we’ll have all the usual shenanigans going on, including graff demos, mad paint specials and a Free BBQ."
Biz has been part of the underground Brisbane hiphop scene since 1996 and has already toured the country several times, with fans going crazy for his stuff – we’re itching to hear what he’s been doing lately!
Melbourne production company ‘FULL CLIP‘ will also be there, alongside with some of Brisbane’s finest graffers – looks like our kinda party!
Who: Jake Biz Feat 750 Rebels and FULL CLIP plus a bunch of Brissy graff artists! What: Jake Biz @ Crush City Release Party Where: Crush City Carpark, 423 Ipswich Road, Annerley, QL When: Saturday 3rd March, from 12pm.
Well, we’re back! Continuing on from last year, we’ll be presenting a roundup of all the videos we’ve seen across Oz and NZ every Thursday – and this week, there’s some pretty cool ones, so watch on …
Of course, something we’re really looking forward to this weekend is the Marvel Street Art event at RTIST Gallery in Prahran, and here’s the promo video with Sirum and Shem!
Tiger Translate Sydney 2011 sounds like it was mad fun – with collaborations between Beastman, Numskull, Creepy, Phibs & Matt Stewart (Australia), Junkhouse (Korea), Lhagvaa Enkhbat (Mongolia) and Momorobo (Singapore). Can’t wait for the next Melbourne event!
We’re not exactly sure what this is or where it sprang from, we have little information about it – but this doco coming out looks pretty damn cool! Check out the preview for it.
Next up is the fifth part of the Urban Scrawl previews, and probably our favourite that combines a lot of the elements and such from the previous ones. Watch!!!
If you haven’t heard about this yet, then you’re living under a rock – a cool little piece on the Melbourne Underground Project. WTF – Nash and Ces were in town? Damn we hope they painted more spots whilst they were here!!
Last year we told you about the whole live art paint up that happened up in Cairns for the Taste-y graff jam, and now here’s there video from the event from Ironlak!
CDH, a Melbourne street artist, recently sat down for a chat with reputable collectors, fans and all round wonderful philanthropists of Australian Street Art, Sandra Powell and Andrew King …
I never fully understood the expression ‘jaw dropping’ until I went to Sandra and Andrew’s house. Walking around corners, I found my mouth dropping open at the amazing art on display; Banksy, Shepard Fairey, and so many more street artists, nestled among Sidney Nolan and Brett Whiteley. Andrew and Sandra tell me that they’re slowly selling their modernist Australian artworks to make way for more street art. There’s a subtle irony in that because there’s an obvious comparison to be made between this couple and John and Sunday Reed. Andrew and Sandra are more than just collectors; they are people who are trying to facilitate and grow street art in Melbourne.
They also recently organized and curated the recent show ‘Young & Free’ in San Francisco, featuring thirteen Australian street artists. They have a small flat at the back of their house that is set up as a guest space for visiting street artists. ELK, D*Face, Kid Zoom, Lister and Dlux have all stayed here and left their tag behind to mark their visit. At the end of the interview, Andrew and I sit around and just chat about art and life over a few beers, then later we talk at length about how to grow street art in Melbourne – he’s a genuinely nice guy who enjoys a few beers and loves talking about street art.
You only need to speak to them for a few minutes to be able to see their enthusiasm for street art coming straight through.
“We want to dedicate ourselves to this,” Sandra tells me later.
Do you think that street art is the art movement of the day?
Andrew: It’s the first movement of the internet age – without a doubt it’s the biggest art movement, ever. There are more people involved in it than any other movement in art history, in the world. You can’t go to any city or town in the world where someone hasn’t made their mark on a wall.
Sandra: …well we went to a little town in New Zealand recently and that wasn’t the case.
Andrew: Yeah, but I fixed that up. [I had a good laugh at that]
What type of art are you interested in collecting?
Sandra: What we’re especially interested in is Melbourne art. Australian, yes, but especially Melbourne art. We’re really interested in getting art from the 1990s onwards and just getting anything historic because so much has been lost. Andrew and I wish we had started collecting street art earlier when it was such an exciting time in Melbourne between 2000-2004. That whole stencil time when Melbourne street art really hit its straps. The artists say it wouldn’t have really made a difference, then, because they were doing it for themselves.
When they had empty shows, they were only for other artists and artists’ friends. They weren’t gallery shows, so the people who have got most of the early stuff are the artists themselves.
Can I put one thing to you? You’re clearly very close to Everfresh and you often describe Melbourne’s street art through the prism of their experiences. But there are so many other things that came before and have come since then like yarn bombing, guerilla gardening, video projection, installation art; these are all part of the same urban intervention movement. I don’t share your view that the best has already happened, I think it’s broader than that and there are many innovative and interesting things happening today.
Sandra: Sure – but my interest is in aerosol. I love looking at tags. I love anything that’s done with paint. So I think our interest is very much from a painterly point of view, not so much from the craft or sculpture. I love stuff on walls. I might start loving yarn bombing or something else, I think it’s really terrific but the smell of aerosol drives me crazy.
You both organized and curated the ‘Young & Free’ show in San Francisco. I know organizing artists is a lot like herding cats. I like to imagine the two of you as the mum and dad at a children’s birthday party where someone has spiked the red cordial. Are there any anecdotes you can share of artists running amok?
Andrew: One of the supposedly amusing ones was several of the artists went out one night and did some illegal stuff. We got a photo pretty early one morning of the escapades from the night before of some pretty good work on the wall of a church and they’d put Sandra’s mobile phone number below.
[All laughing]
Did it have ‘for a good time call…’ above it?
Sandra: No. It looked like I had done the work. It had my name and my phone number on it. Then it became a joke that they started calling us ‘Sandrew’, so then they started signing everything ‘Sandrew’. It was like organizing a children’s birthday party. That’s a good analogy. I don’t know that there had ever been so many Australian street artists in one place overseas. They were all staying in the same hotel. We very wisely stayed down the road.
[Laughing]
Andrew: We had Ironlak as our sponsor for the ‘Young & Free’ show. They were really supportive and they gave us every piece of paint we could ever hope for – but one of the artists didn’t like the smell …
Sandra: …There was some confusion amongst the artists that played out in a huge email exchange.
Andrew: After this email exchange, we got an email from Ben Frost, saying he used Ironlak for aftershave. Then he said, ‘perhaps that’s why my wife left me.’
Sandra: It was just so funny – hysterical.
You collect a huge amount of street art, but you also advise and facilitate street artists. I don’t know if you’ve been asked this before but are you the John and Sunday Reed of our time?
Andrew: Hopefully there’s not a Sidney Nolan lurking in the background there somewhere! [laughs]
[I had a good laugh at that too - Sidney Nolan had an open affair with Sunday Reed]
Sandra: When we first started collecting art, we were collecting from the Heide artists. So we’re very familiar with that story – but we never really understood the connection they had with the artists. So when we started collecting art it was from artists who had either died or have died since; for instance Joy Hester and Sidney Nolan. So the excitement now is, without a doubt, collecting the works of artists we know and have become friends with. That completely changes the whole idea of collecting in a way I hadn’t realized it would. It makes you look at people’s art differently.
Andrew: We can’t go back to Albert Tucker and say ‘what’s the story behind this work?’
Sandra: Buying works that we have actually watched them paint is just extraordinarily exciting and are things I wouldn’t give up in a million years. You just have a totally different connection to the art that you collect when you have a relationship with the artist. So when you’re saying ‘Are we the John and Sunday Reed?’ well maybe in 10 or 15 years time when we’ve been at it a lot longer – but one of the things that Andrew and I want to do at the moment is to support the artists. I don’t think there’s an artist I’ve met whose ideal isn’t to be able to live off painting – they all want to be able to.
Andrew: As an example, Rone contacted us and told us that Meggs was going over to LA, and asked would it be possible for us to organise an introduction with Justin [Giarla] at White Walls. So I said, yeah, sure; I wrote a letter of introduction and Meggs went up to San Francisco – and now he has a solo show at White Walls this year! Cool.
Sandra: To be in a position to make a few connections like that is really fantastic, and it’s really interesting for the artists to trust somebody. I don’t think there’s anyone we’ve met that doesn’t understand that we’re not in it for the money.
Andrew: When we first met them, they thought ‘who the hell are these people?’ There was a lot of suspicion. I heard that at first they thought I was an undercover cop or something – now we’ve got their confidence, we’re just friends, and it’s no big deal.
Sandra: I think they know that our hearts are in the right place. They just have to talk to us to see that we’re just so passionate about it. They have more to teach us, more than we have to teach them. Then sometimes there’s an opportunity to give a little bit of advice – it’s a relationship on a different level. It’s more like family.
That reminds me of the parental-children relationship we talked about before.
Sandra: Definitely. That’s it, and if they get out of line I’ll tell them off, don’t you worry [laughing]. I think I’m more a mother than Andrew is a father.
Andrew: Yeah, definitely. I love going out with the artists. I love going out with them at night – just for the thrill.
Sandra: We have a running joke – ‘Andrew you are not a street artist.’
Andrew: I do love putting up stickers – I just find it really exciting.
Sandra: I get really embarrassed by this. I say ‘Andrew you shouldn’t do it’. But the artists really love it. They love going out with him, and they just think it’s a real hoot. It’s a bit like putting your money where mouth is. He embarrasses his wife and his daughter sometimes.
[Andrew got his phone to show me stickers he’d put up. One is on the rear bumper of a US police car]
[Laughing]That’s one thing I really love about street art. Sometimes it’s really quite creative, but others it’s just the sheer ballsy-ness of it.
Andrew: That’s part of street art. Even if it’s a simple tag, if it’s really dangerous to get to (physical danger or the danger of getting caught) that just adds to it. Anyone can go down a back lane when there’s no one around. That’s simple. This was another good one. [checking his phone] I was with Meggs.
Sandra: No, I was with Meggs. It was the three of us in London. A cop car drove past and you went chasing after the cop car (to sticker it). Meggs couldn’t believe it. So he and I took off. That was pretty funny.
You obviously collected a lot of Australian tonalism and modernism. With a view to your art collection history, how do you think street art will fit into broader Australian art history?
Andrew: I think it’s here to stay – a lot of people think it’s a passing fad. It’s not like impressionism or Dadaism or cubism or something. It’s here to stay, and it’s just going to evolve. In Australian art history I don’t know when they’ll say it first started, but it’s going to stay.
Sandra: I think it started in the 80s with train painting, but there’s still a heap of people who paint trains. I find that part of it really fascinating too. There is no doubt in my mind that the movement will have to be taken seriously in the history of art. It is evolving. We were talking about that before; has Banksy peaked? It does just keep on changing and evolving. Lately I’ve seen more tags. It turns into an abstract piece of art.
Andrew: If we achieve our aim of setting up a street art museum, that will help bring it to the fore. The Space Invader show at the NGA last year, that has given a lot of cred to the movement too. Also having the Everfresh boys in the Atrium (studio space in Fed Square) gave the movement a lot of credibility. We’ve been told that more people went to the Atrium exhibition space that month than went to the Vienna exhibition in the international part of the NGV – what does that say?
Sandra: I also recognize that there must be many people in the movement who hate people like us – people who are supposedly trying to gentrify the movement, but that’s really cool too. I must admit, we’ve met quite a few rough nuts.
I think your enthusiasm for street art cuts through a lot of that. People who haven’t met you might feel that way, but I think once people meet you they see a more sympathetic side.
Sandra: I think that’s what happens. We have met a few guys who were not aggressive but were very nonchalant. They were like ‘who are you and why are you interested, and why do I care?’ But then, within a few days, they’re emailing me photos of what they’ve done.
Andrew: Some of the really hardcore artists, you could just see how stand off-ish they were. When you’ve got this dichotomy with the council; on the one hand they’re encouraging street art and using it for tourism. On the other hand you’ve got the Lord Mayor calling the artists peanut brains and graffiti vandals – I just don’t get it. A lot of people in the movement can’t speak up for the movement. I think it helps to have someone who knows the way of the world better than some of the artists do – hopefully that doesn’t sound too arrogant.
Sandra: We also know how to run a business. In bits like that we can help the artists because a lot of them are trying to run their businesses – we can help with things like that.
Who else have you met that stands out in your mind?
Andrew: Well Saber, what a guy he is! He’s done the biggest piece of street art in the world. We’ve been to his studio. One time he was being chased by the cops, he jumps over a fence (not very successfully) and impales himself on this iron spike. He’s got a piece of the fence and framed it. Luckily it stopped just next to his stomach lining. So he’s stuck on the fence and has to push up with the cops still following him – and he got away. He is as hard core as you can get.
Sandra: After the MOCA opening in LA (in April) we had a dinner at our hotel and we invited Swoon and her family. She didn’t get back to us and I assumed she had gone back to New York. I had booked a really nice table, so we asked Saber and his partner to join us instead. He’d just said yes and then we got a text from Swoon, saying ‘I’m sorry, I’d lost my phone, we’d love to come.’ So I thought uh-oh we’ve got Swoon and Saber. They are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Saber is a gang guy. He’s got these holes in his ears. They’re like plugs but they’re not plugs that can heal, they’re punched holes in his ear lobes. He told me it’s a gang rite thing. They’ve got some bit of iron – they bash out the center part of your ear and you’ve got to eat it.
… No way. That’s made up.
Sandra: No, no, no. It’s true. He had to eat it in front of people. This guy is really hard core – and Swoon is just so gorgeous. So, I rang her up and explained that I hadn’t heard back so I’d asked someone else to dinner. I said you’re welcome to come but I don’t know that you’ll get on with the person we’ve asked. She said ‘Oh, who have you asked?’ I told her it was Saber.
She replied, ‘Oh my god I love Saber. He’s my favourite person in the world.’ – we had such a cool night!
As part of the ongoing street art community project we’ve been sponsoring around Melbourne and Stonnington, ReVurt, we arranged for Heesco and Conrad Bizjak to paint Greville Court laneway next door to Ladro on Greville st.
It was a pretty windy day and it threatened to rain a few times, but the boys got through most of it with some awesome images of tree frogs and a pair of Mongolian Shaman. The crew at Ladro kept us all fed during the day with some amazing wood fired pizza and also kept the liquids up, so it was a pretty cool afternoon and Conrad and Heesco did some amazing work.
There’s still a little more to paint, so check back for updates – but here’s a few snapshots from the day …
Check out our facebook page for heaps more shots and, if you’re in Prahran, head down to Greville St and Ladro to check it all out!
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.
Earlier this year, we heard about an ambitious project to transform Sydneys Harbours Cockatoo Island into a mecca of street art. When we first heard it, it seemed a long way away, and we weren’t sure exactly what it entailed. Over time, we started learning more, and getting an idea as to what it would encompass – and it was bigger, bolder, and more jam packed with awesome than we ever imagined. The Outpost project will be a showcase of Australian street art, and international street art, that outweighs anything that has previously been seen in Australasia.
Over the next five weeks, we’ll be focusing on the Outpost Project for our editorial content – we’ll still have our regular blogs, but we’ll also be running a string of content as we document whats going on up at the island. We’ve also been working with the wonderful ArtSeries Hotels to help coordinate several forums and artist showcases as well, and there will be all kinds of posts around those. The entire team here has been gearing up for this for the last few months – its here, and we’re totally amped!
So, this is your rough guide to the event – from here will be links to articles on each event, interviews, live blogging, photos and all the rest. Use this as your feed, or just keep reading as you normally would to keep on track – all the Outpost content will be tagged so you can always just check the tag feed … Outpost will be a ground breaking event in the Australian street art legacy – we can’t wait, because its going to be mad – so read on, bookmark this article, and keep checking back here for new content links.
This is only a guide, and we’ll keep it as up to date as possible, so if in doubt, please refer to the Outpost Project website.
As a mad fan of urban vinyl and designer toys, there is nothing better than seeing a custom toy show (even if I can’t make it, I can’t wait to see the pics!) – and when you see one that has the backing of Kid Robot, there really isn’t much else to say! With Red Bull curating the event, and with a whole slew of amazing names both local and international, we’re hoping that they decide to expand this show out to the other states, pronto!
"We would like to extend a very warm welcome to you and your crew to attend the first ever Mo’Munny, Mo’ Problems event. Showcasing 35 of the best visual artists from Brisbane and around the world, this inaugural event will surely become a highlight event of the Kidrobot phenomenon currently sweeping the globe.
A team of quality lifestyle brands in Brisbane have come together to produce this event, which aims to put an international spotlight on the acclaimed Brisbane design community. Red Bull Curates has enlisted the help of Laced, Laruche Bar & Supperclub, Ironlak & Media Playground and the result is sure to create a stir amongst industry and media alike.
Mo’ Munny, Mo’ Problems is a Kidrobot Munny Design Show for which 18 inch, 7 inch and 4 inch Munnys have been sent around the world to be designed for sale during and directly after the event."
Get there this Thursday, and get yourself a one of a kind customised toys! Here’s a hint – they look awesome on a window sill …
Who: Dave White (UK), Frank Kozik (USA Kid Robot toy artist), Mega (France/Indonesia), Claudio Kirac, Sofles, Kalin Thompson, Benjamin Reeve, Keiron McMaster, Sonny & Biddy (WeBuyYourKids), Glen Manders (Bad Teeth Comics), Sam McKenzie (SamSamSamSam), KatieKate (Winner of Vinyl Countdown 1&2), Shane Johnson & Sean Condon (Media Playground), Loz (Seventh Circle Tattoo), Swamp Fiend (John C), Josh Thorsen (Kid9), Shaun Campbell (Squidtank), Joel Cameron aka. (DARKOYO), Jesse Bernard Paul Olsen, Julian Tognini (Tognini’s), Ben Johnston (Joseph Marks), Britta Gud and more!! What: Mo’ Munny Mo’ Problems custom toy show Where: Laruche, Bakery Lane, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane When: Show opens Thursday 27th October 7pm til late
SDM Crew (Jumble, Dscreet, Trim, Dvate, Dabs, Askem, Ethics, Urge, Iree, Wei2, Rcor, Aeon, Rase, Myla, Sup, Surge, Ninja, Mercy, Tizer and Shucks) are one of Melbourne’s leading graff and street art crews since the 1990’s, with members set up locally and internationally as well as being (just like us) another wicked promoter and informer of Melbourne’s bigger than ever art scene!
Not just recent winners of the best production category for the Australian/New Zealand region of Ironlak Comp 2010, SDM Crew members have also had great success showing their work in numerous solo outings, and they are now putting on part one of their crew show "Sleep Deprived" for us this Sunday in Collingwood.
Can’t wait to see #1 and already anticipating #2 of this elite crews group exhibition.
Who: SDM Crew – Jumble, Dscreet, Trim, Dvate, Dabs, Askem, Ethics, Urge, Iree, Wei2, Rcor, Aeon, Rase, Myla, Sup, Surge, Ninja, Mercy, Tizer and Shucks What: Sleep Deprived – Group Show Where: 145 Johnston St, Collingwood When: Open Sunday 16th Wednesday, 19th and Thursday 27th October 2-6pm. Show runs til 31st October 2011 (by appointment)
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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