Street Art | Postcards From Here and There

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.

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

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.

Digbeth Street Art Part 3

In this final part looking at the street art of Birmingham’s Digbeth area I look at the art to be found in the streets around Lower Trinity Street. You can read Part 1 of the series here, and part 2 here.

Continuing the tour leave the arches linking Gibb and Floodgate Streets by making a right turn back into Floodgate Street. You will retrace your steps from earlier until you pass the junction with Little Ann Street. Stay on Floodgate until it makers a junction with Fazeley Street. On your way you will pass this mural by N4T4.

A short walk is now needed to get to next area. Turn right at the end of Flood Street onto Fazeley Street followed by a right into Heath Mill Lane. Cross over the road so that you can shortly take a left turn into Alcock Street. Half way along take the right turn into Hack Street. There is a lot of art to be found here.

Hack Street runs into Bromley Street and at the end turn left back into Heath Mill Lane.

Go into the car park on your left, there is a art on all the walls here. Immediately on your left as you enter is this mural entitled Yankin Chains by Brighton based street artist Snub23 which was painted for the High Vis Festival 2018.

A nearby mural which appears to be for the new Eastside Rooms hotel and conference centre features these two excellent portraits.

On exiting the car park turn left back onto Heath Mill Lane and then left onto Lower Trinity Street. There are a number of significant pieces here including the portrait of Muhammad Ali by Manchester based artist Akse.

This striking mural is by the Made You Look Collective.

There are also two works by Justin Sola.

The piece Earth Is Mine is by Dynamickart.

On the corner with Adderley Street are three murals by Israeli street art collective Brokenfingaz.

Continue down Adderley Street.

At the end of Adderley Street turn right onto the B4100 and head back towards the city centre. Take one last stop at the car park on your right. There are a lot of tags here along with this interesting piece by Graffoflarge.

On leaving the car park head back towards the city centre to complete the walk.

I have not been able to identify all the artists of the works shown and may also have made some errors. If you can add anything or need a correction let me know in the comments section.

Digbeth Street Art Part 2

In a previous post (here) I looked at the street art that could be seen walking from Birmingham city centre towards the Custard `Factory area of Digbeth. This second part begins at the end of Floodgate Street where it meets the B4100 High Street Deritend. Turn right onto the High Street. Immediately on your left is a car park which is well worth investigating with art on the outer hoardings and inside.

On exiting the car park turn left and continue walking up the main road before making a left into Gibb Street into the heart of the Custard Factory development. Dan Kitchener has another work here that occupies the side of a building. Another wet city scene it has his signature dreamlike quality in the painting.

A little further along is this superb piece, painted for the High Vis Festival, by Philth.

Close by is this work by Birmingham based artist and illustrator Justin Sola.

Under the railway arches is this piece by Andrew Mills with is a tribute to the relationship between Odeon Cinemas and the city, along with its wider relationship with the film industry. The Beatles, partly obscured by a car in the photo below, appeared at the Birmingham Odeon at the height of their fame in 1965.

Just across the road you will find these two works.

Graffoflarge
Hull Graffiti

The railway arches that connect Gibb Street with Floodgate street are home to a mass of street art. You have to be very observant to make sure that you do not miss anything as pieces can be found almost hidden away in alcoves and behind parked vehicles. The most striking mural takes up a whole wall and is by Gent48.

In close up the detail is fantastic.

Looking a bit worn now is a geometric fox by Annatomix.

There are further examples of Justin Solas work although the second was partly obscured by a piece of plant machinery on the day of my visit.

A narrow alleyway brings you back out onto Floodgate street where you turn right. Part three will complete a look at the street art of Digbeth by covering the area in and around Lower Trinity Street.

I have not been able to identify all the artists of the works shown and may also have made some errors. If you can add anything or need a correction let me know in the comments section.