Tag: Australia

Melbourne Street Art 1

The alleys and laneways of Melbourne’s central business district are festooned with street art and graffiti thanks in part to the creation of free spaces within the city. Add to this the fact that art on walls is legal with the building owners permission and you have an environment where art can flourish and not surprisingly this has attracted some of the best artists around.

A consequence of free walls is that the art can be very ephemeral. Artists can freely overpaint work so creating a constantly changing gallery of work. On the plus side artists are freely able to respond to what is happening in the world around them so at the time of our visit there was a number of murals making reference to the bushfires on Australia’s east coast.

In this post we will look at the art in the well known laneways close to Flinders Lane.

Hozier Lane

Perhaps the best known and certainly the most popular laneway for visitors wanting to see what the street art scene is all about. It can get very busy so if you want some space to view the work then get there early. As you enter the laneway from Flinders Street there are a number of murals featuring Koalas and the effect on wildlife of the recent bushfires.

Andrew Gibbons

There is hardly a square centimetre of wall uncovered in places making the whole scene a riot of colour.

Adnate is an Australian street artist well known for portraiture and here on Hozier Lane you can see a a rather grand example of his work.

Higson Lane

Higson Lane is just a short walk from Hozier Lane and here the walls are less densely painted. Street artists are sometimes known for their political observations and there is a good example here.

Much of the art here is by Lushsux.

Baby Yoda features again, this time with Elton John.

AC/DC Lane/Duckboard Place

The next laneway along Flinders Lane is AC/DC Lane named after the Australian rock band and is a series of murals dedicated to the world of rock and roll. Indeed the famous Melbourne music venue The Cherry Bar was once located here before it moved to its new home on Little Collins Street. what better way to start than with this mural of Jimi Hendrix

Putos
Heesco

Lushsux has a mural here dedicated to Malcolm Young, the rhythm guitarist with AC/DC who died in 2017.

As you turn the corner at the bottom of AC/DC lane it becomes Duckboard Place. On the wall to the left is this large mural by Finton McGee.

A stencil by Banksy still survives faro his visit here in 2003, sorry not ny best photograph.

Outback based artist John Murray has temporarily relocated to Melbourne and he has a couple of pieces on Duckboard Place including this of Elvis!

Just around the corner is this collaboration with Kasper.

Kokonut at Bunch

Yetti and the Kokonut are the nicknames of David Geyer and Koen Janssens who together make some fabulous wines in South Australia. I have previously written about their wines from the 2018 vintage, you can read it here. Last Sunday evening, at Bunch Natural Wine Bar in Liverpool Koen was showcasing some of the wines from the recent 2019 vintage.

Fruit Basket 2019, Eden Valley. Fruit comes from a 90 year old single block of vines in the Eden Valley which contains 13-15 different varieties. The relative proportion in the vineyard is unknown and the block is harvested and vinified all together. For the 2019 Fruit Basket they tried something different and vinified small batches separately in the hope of giving some personal identity to the wine. The wine saw 10 days skin contact and has a feint blush. It has lovely texture and balance. Peachy, floral, perfumed, with some dried herbs, there is an awful lot going on here and this is what I like about this wine, every sip brings something new. The finish is dry with a delightful floral perfume. As a result of the drought in South Australia production is 70% down on last year. Get it while you can.

Metro Savagnin 2019, McLaren Vale. The story of Savagnin in Australia in an interesting one. DNA tests conducted in 2009 on Albarino confirmed what had been suspected, it wasn’t Albarino at all but was Savagnin. So the Savagnin growing in Australia is there because of a mistake and what a beneficial one it has proved to be for Yetti & the Kokonut. They farm a vineyard of Savignan, harvest it all at the same time and then vinify in different ways. Metro is a new wine which was vinified in two separate batches, in one it was 100% whole bunch in the other 50% destemmed with 50% whole bunch on top. The resulting wine has a lovely freshness with lots of citrus, pear and stone fruit. It is well balanced and has a delightful delicate finish. It’s refreshing and very drinkable. A very versatile wine.

Mount Savagnin 2019, McLaren Vale. The same vineyard as Metro but this wine was made in a much larger wooden vat holding around 3000 litres. There is some delicacy here with lovely pear and lime and a texture that makes this very drinkable. The wine is not out there shouting about itself, it just quietly gets on with delivering a very nice glass. Very much in its youth and lovely for drinking now.

Mount Savagnin 2017, McLaren Vale. An interesting comparison with the recent release and a much more serious wine. It has the fruit of the 2019 but has also developed a nuttiness and complexity which makes it a wine for contemplative drinking. Great balance and a lovely freshness to the finish.

B’rosé 2019, McLaren Vale. This years wine is a blend of Cabernet Franc, red Semillon and Verdello. Noticeably absent is Gewurtztraminer which has added real fragrance and spice to previous vintages. Unfortunately the Gewurtz wine picked up an infection and was spoiled hence its absence. Despite the problems this is still very good. A fruit forward wine with masses of red berry fruit, a great texture and real character. This is a wine that demands some serious attention, preferably sat in the warm sunshine. As winter approaches perhaps we could drink it to bring a little sunshine into our lives. I really hope so.