By NOEL MURPHY
STREET art has been controversial ever since Stone Age graffiti was daubed across cave walls.
Spray can and stencils characterise the art these days and as always the form is provocative, challenging and in your face.
Right now, Geelong’s new-look Eureka Hotel is playing host to some of the country’s top urban artists in what’s been dubbed its Reborn Project.
The revamped inner-city nightclub has been smothered with wall-to-wall street art – direct sprays, stencils, paste-ups, from a tribe of artists ranging from ’80s train painters to contemporary chlorofluorocarbon Rembrandts.
“The Reborn Project is the most significant exhibition by Australian street artists ever seen in Geelong,’’ Eureka boss Darryn Lyons told the Independent.
“The project features fresh work by 13 of Melbourne’s finest urban artists, from the already internationally acclaimed to the burgeoning up-and-comers,” he said.
“Reborn is a reflection of Melbourne’s thriving street culture with a strong grounding in the past and a firm focus on the future. These artists are modern-day bushrangers, patrolling the lanes from Melbourne to Manhattan.
“No matter their age, medium or style, the artists all share one thing in common – they wanted to give the landscape within the Eureka Hotel a fresh coat of paint.”
Artists featured in Reborn include Vexta, Kaffeine, Lucy, Mr Wendal, S-701s, Fitz and Klara.
