Street art precinct to be unveiled with six large-format murals on Spencer St

MELBOURNE has cemented its reputation as Australia’s street art capital, with six of Australia’s leading artists braving the weekend’s rains to paint a massive “gallery” of murals in Melbourne CBD.

A MAJOR street art precinct will be unveiled in central Melbourne Monday, featuring six of the nation’s leading artists.

The large-format murals have been created on the walls of the power substation on Spencer and Little Bourke streets, adding to the city’s street-art reputation.

The urban art project is the brainchild of the team behind the successful silo art trail in western Victoria.

LANEWAY ART WASHED AWAY

ART SILO PROJECT

Matt Adnate with his portrait of a young indigenous boy. Picture: Michael Klein

Fintan Magee working on the biggest piece of work in the precinct. Picture: Michael Klein

The artists — Smug, Dvate, Adnate, Sofles, Fintan Magee and Rone — worked through the weekend rain.

Shaun Hossack, who founded Melbourne street art collective Juddy Roller, curated the project in collaboration with building owner CitiPower and Upper West Side developer Far East Consortium.

Sofles’ massive spencer St mural. Picture: Michael Klein

Artist Devate works on his piece in the rain. Picture: Michael Klein

ART IN ABANDONED HOUSE A SURPRISE HIT

Hossack was the inspiration behind the six decommissioned silos that were painted through the Mallee and Wimmera.

“It’s such a rare opportunity,” Hossack said. “The scale of this project is unprecedented in Melbourne’s CBD. It’s the next step in the evolution of Melbourne street art.”

The first six murals are expected to be followed by another six or eight, depending on availability of wall space.

Artist Matt Adnate’s depiction of a young Melbourne Aboriginal boy is part of his series of indigenous faces around the world.

“It’s kind of reclaiming these spaces that were taken away from them,’’ he said.

“It’s a positive way to give back to the indigenous community.’’

Smug has added a second piece to the outdoor gallery. His eye-catching, 12m-high painting of his elderly grandparents has been on show on Lonsdale St since last year.

Rone was the artist who created the Omega Project in July in a condemned house in Alphington.

The temporary exhibition of murals on the home’s wall attracted thousands of visitors to the former Amcor paper mill site.

Despite interest from Heide and the NGV to save and relocate the exhibition, the dilapidated state of the building meant the artwork could not be saved intact.