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September 25, 2007
Hosier Lane near Federation Square is the best lane in terms of the lanes as a gallery that exhibit Melbourne's street culture. It is there that you can see why Melbourne has a standing as an international hotspot for street art. In contrast, Centre Place is just a mess and there is no respect shown for any of the work.
Gary Sauer-Thompson, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, 2007
It is here in a stinking, winding lane, full of overflowing garbage bins, that you can best see the creative graffiti and stencil work on display, its diversity and self referential gestures to the world of art exhibited in the National Gallery of Victoria just down the road. The curators there have recognized the value of the work and are collecting some of the artists.
Gary Sauer-Thompson, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, 2007
Although Melbourne city council remains committed to the immediate removal of any form of graffiti in "highly visual" areas and members of the Brumby State Government see street art as graffiti as vandalism, the designs in Hosier Lane and many other laneways that criss-cross the city centre seem to go untouched. Late last year, the council, despite "protests, introduced a system allowing residents and businesses to apply for a permit to preserve street art they considered worthy of protection.
Gary Sauer-Thompson, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, 2007
Most of the works in the laneway are more ‘arty' than graffiti.
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Gary
Steve Bardon is the front person of Residents Against Graffiti Everywhere (RAGE). They do rage in their advocacy of zero tolerance. This also means total bans on the sale of spray cans to anyone who did not need them for their trade and stores should be forced to hide the product.