Aussie

 

I've been trying to snap one of these posters for the past couple of weeks but Brisbane City Council have been very quick to remove them.

Click here for more info...

Underwater Doorway Girl

Another offering tucked away in a quiet road by street artist Barek.

Roots Down

The big fig trees which line Oxford Street by the Memorial Park in Bulimba have these funky sleeves to protect them. Prop roots spring from the branches like scaffolding and grow downwards to support the huge weight of the tree and as a consequence they can grow over a vast area. Here's a closer view:

It reminds me of a poem by Brisbane's newly elected Greens councillor who recited it as part of an unprecedented maiden speech in council last month. A poem in council!? The rest of the councillors probably thought he was mad; a bit out-there for Brisbane! But you don't get more Brisbane than this:

Roots down
roots down
roots down
roots down
my heart's buried deep under Brisbane town
creekbeds, hilltops, riding around
cracking macadamias and putting roots down
I am of this city
its history is my history
my scraped knee and my favourite tree
and swimming lessons in the pool at Craigslea Primary
and Oxley's expedition back in 1823
and our Year 4 excursion to Saint Helena Island
and those weather-worn tennis balls that we were always finding
and the floods of 1974
and the invasion of 1788
and the park on the north side where I rode without training wheels for the first time
and the frog pond of drowning Christmas beetles
and Joh Bjelke-Pietersen
and hunting Easter eggs in the backyard
and hunting kangaroos by Breakfast Creek
and the roller coaster at the top of the Myer Centre that looked like a dragon and screamed at the madness beneath
Roots down
roots down
this town
roots down
My roots are tendrils, tentacles
reaching down below
splitting concrete and bitumen digging in
The soil is soft after summer storms
and the roots grow quickly, thickly
but Brisbane's burbs're built on clay
so once they're down they're down to stay
Roots down roots down brushtail growl hear that sound
But now and then in this circus I encounter a clown
who thinks that because he's got his roots in the ground
he somehow gains the right to define this town
and decide who else gets to put roots down
See the surface seems sufficiently serene
but if you peel back the bandaid you'll see the gangrene
And now I see you've forgotten
I see your roots are rotten
but this garden has no gardener
that's how we got to where we've gotten
The question on my mind is where we going?
This city is growing
sauropod construction cranes on every horizon
jackhammer clattering drowns out the cicadas
the relentless march of apartment towers makes suburbanites nervous
so they build higher fences
and mow their lawns weekly
Roots down, stolen ground
dead trees, river brown
I know something's awry in this city
but I can't quite put my finger on it
It's like we've outgrown the garden bed
roots in a twist
slumbering suburbs
silence those who resist
Vision blurring
but now I hear them stirring
climb Mt Cootha at midnight
see them lighting candles and switching off TVs
Flying foxes in the trees
stench of rotten mangoes
gives way to a cool south-easterly
Pumpkin vines wither and die but the passionfruit keeps growing
skyscrapers sprouting up from the bedrock
Wivenhoe overflowing
activists invade city hall and the clocktower falls silent in anticipation
Change is coming to Brisbane town
we feel it in the soil
while we cracking macadamias and putting roots down

(by Jonathan Sri)

What a load of rubbish!

The Judith Wright Centre in Fortitude Valley is hosting an art exhibition with each piece made from second hand shop and reused everyday materials. There are 10 artworks on display.  Here's a taste.

Cate Collopy - Plastic Fantastic - Land, Sea, Airship

Created from a microphone stand, kitchen items, a foot pump, a beer keg, computer parts, toys and a wine glass holder.

Guiseppo Filardo - Trophy in Waiting

 Created from serving spoons, Christmas decorations, bar stools and a chair, wine rack, music book stand, jugs, trolleys and more.

Holly Pepper - Thorn in the Reef

 Created from woollen rugs, coffee bags, knitting needles, second-hand nails, a Webber BBQ, metal lights and more.

Robert Hains - Pegasus

Created from a bookcase, school desk, chair and lectern.

You are invited to vote for your favourite and the winning artist gets $4000. Which will support them handsomely while they are rummaging around in the tip looking for their next inspiration! So if you're in the area, pop in and check it out. It will make you see junk in a different light.

Momentary

Checking out this delicate and intricate installation inspired by light and reflection in Brisbane. The artist is Kenji Uranishi and it's at the Museum of Brisbane. Read more here.

Juice Bar Art

Watermelon carvings outside the juice bar in the Brisbane Square markets.

Barek

I love the little characters this artist paints. This is stuck on the side of one of those little telephone exchange boxes. It's just a few centimetres wide.

See more here.

Paste up, The Valley

Traffic Stopping Art (Number 61)

Having taken a three year break from this lark, there are LOADS of new traffic signal boxes all over the place that I can show you. This one is by Dominique O'Leary in Fortitude Valley.

If you are curious about the traffic signal box project, check out the Urban Smart Projects website.

The More I Think About It....

The Writing's On The Wall

The changing face of graffiti...

Skate Arena Paint Job

It's been a while since I've been past the old Skate Arena in Red Hill. The building has been lying dormant for years after a fire and is slowly surrendering to the elements. Some photographers have managed to get inside and take some beautiful shots but I'm not that brave. The artist who painted the outside wall here is called Drapl - he also painted the latest rail support in South Brisbane which I posted about recently here.

Fenced In Cows

The old ABSOE building in Boundary Street, West End, has hosted some great weekend markets, a couple of music venues, bars and art studios for the past couple of years but all that has come to an end now as developers move in to bulldoze the current buildings and build 1350 luxury flats spread over seven 15-storey towers. Much of the local community is against the development.

It was an unceremonious end to the last markets on Friday night. The developers were worried the community would start protesting so they cancelled the event, erected some fencing and employed some security.

Then they had to put a fence in front of the original fence which is causing more controversy...

The artist, Stewart, is back again today to do some repainting. He's going over the cows with native birds. We'll see how that one pans out..

Support The Arts

Queensland Rail has commissioned several artists over the past year to paint murals on the concrete supports that hold up the elevated railway line in South Brisbane. Today I came across the latest one which was in the process of being painted - deffo a photo opportuinity! Pity I only had my phone camera but you get the general idea. The artist is Brisbane-based graffiti artist Drapl.

The photo he was working from is of a local musician called James 'Laneous' Lane who is in a band called Laneous and The Family Yah. Triple J describes it as "Mutant Soul and Croon Punk" - what a description! When it's finished, the words will read "Raise The Vibration".

Here it is in context near the south side of the Go Between Bridge. Drapl said he's just painted the outside of the old skate arena in Red Hill. I posted a couple of pics from there a few years ago - it was attracting artists back then too -  so I'll have to re-visit and give you an update.

Viet strikes again...

 

One of Brisbane's more interesting taggers is Viet. This is high up on a fence on Boundary Street in West End. It's the third one I've spotted - all within about a kilometre of eachother. If you notice any more, give me a yell.

 

Other two here and here.

Mirjam's exhibition

There were lots of red dots dotted around the Arts Factory a couple of weeks ago for the opening of the Connectivity exhibition. Well done, Mirjam!

The Lost Boys

Posters outside the old Skate Arena in Red Hill.

Brisbane's Sovereign Embassy

Brisbane's Soveriegn Embassy is an indigenous protest site set up in Musgrave Park in South Brisbane and has been open for just over a month. Read about the politics here.

Some of the coals from Canberra's sacred fire in the original Tent Embassy were carried to Brisbane to start a fire here. The residents of the camp have kept the fire burning despite prolonged rain over the past few days. 

Sovereignty of sacred land (like Musgrave Park where the camp is), an end to the disproportionally high number of black deaths in custody and a change to the intervention laws currently in place in the Northern Territory are all mentioned on the various signs around the site.

The signs are hard-hitting but the mood around seems pretty light. I've heard there is a playgroup being held there and of course there is some great art going on...

Signs around the place strictly forbid drugs and alcohol but it looks like the cups of tea are going down a treat.

Kids' Painted Eggs

 

 While we were away camping, one of our talented friends set up an "art camp" for all the kids. One of the activities was painting hard boiled eggs with food colouring. That dark red one with the green circle was my favourite. Painted by Darcy.

At the law courts on a sunny Sunday morning...