Moreland Graffiti: Abandoned Factory in Cliffton Hill

Banksy

It is hard not to become a little too obsessed with street art. Martin Bull writes about a moment when he was passing a London location when he recognised a new Banksy stencil. Jumping up from his seat he pressed the button to stop the bus and made his way back to the stencil's location where he took a series of still images (Banksy Locations & Tours). You can see Banksy's influence almost anywhere you look once the obsession takes hold.

parachute elephant

This "parachute elephant" found on Stanley Street in Collingwood is reminiscent of Banksy's "parachute rat", and just being able to draw the connection stopped me in my tracks, then, for a moment, I belonged to something much larger than myself. I was having a dialogue, a casual chat with with the form of the stenciled image and its message was able to deliver me to other places and the little histories that often go unnoticed and yet provide such abundance of meaning to our lives. One of Banksy's parachute rats was destroyed by workers here in Melbourne. Banksy did not mind; much like the authors of Melbourne's graffiti management plan he recognises the ephemeral nature of the art form.

By its nature, street art within the City of Melbourne is ephemeral - it is not meant to last, the plan states. Archival of works through high-quality photography is a more effective preservation strategy (Article).

Abandoned Factory

At first I sneaked around the back, only to find abandoned spray cans, an enormous array of bottles of various forms of alcohol and a small sharps container for the safe disposal of needles. There was a small window that had obviously been used for comings and goings but I decided to head for the front and jump the fence.

Ironlak Spray Can

217-241 Queens Pde

Just near the entrance you are faced with what is probably one of the best arguments for the non-existence any god whose job description includes being both all loving and all powerful. The problem of evil is nicely spelled out by whoever created this bit of graffiti. It recognises that god is the creation of those who believe in him, the message becomes more poingnent when you find the dirty mattresses and blankets tucked into some of the rooms and the darker corners of the building.

Fuck Your God

Note the pillow and the blankets among the various detritus of homelessness and, in all probability, mental health problems. The middle image shows a room that looks out on the Cliffton Hill Interchange for the Queens Pde trams with a view of the large Queen Anne style villa in the background. No doubt the factory will be demolished at some stage to make way for modern apartments but for the moment it is a good spot for the homeless and an excellent place for a very private gallery of street art.

There is nothing finished or complete in this particular gallery, it has been created without any thought to sales, either at the door or for the works themselves. Just getting into the place is an act of transgression and once in there you are accompanied by a sense of the very real potential of danger emerging from the unfamiliar space around you. This is not my world.

Perhaps this is the difference between graffiti and street art, this sense of transgression coupled with a sense of imminent danger. We were wandering around Abbotsford, Collingwood and environs the other night and much of the street art their is very beautiful, stunning in fact (and the subject of my next post). However, you don't need to break into a place to see it (that's not strictly true), and what you do see has been, for the most part, specifically commissioned and I think that this context changes the act of viewing and experiencing the works.

It was only when I followed the partial glimpse of an image that I found myself in a back alley among the rubbish and the dumpsters that things got interesting, well, for me at least.

The FYG Crew (Robert)

I once walked past the FYG crew as they were throwing up some pieces down Giannarelli Drive, they were working on a piece that was similar to the one above and I stopped and watched them for a while. I was very pleased to see this piece here and would love to photograph them at work. I did stop and chat to a graffiti artist working the same Giannarelli strip once, I thanked him for his efforts and he was very surprised, apparently he was more used to being abused.

These pieces are found on the second floor, to see over the wall I had to jump which might give some idea of the size of the place.

The entire place was strewn with broken glass, bits of old machinery, the occasional syringe and of course, more empty spray cans than the Louvre has discarded ticket stubs.