Melbourne Graffitified (The Hunt For The Best Street Art)

Mister A and I have collected a rich, haphazard treasure trove of street art while walking randomly in Collingwood and Fitzroy (inner city suburbs of Melbourne), mainly along Smith St, Kerr St, Argyle St, Gore St, Rose St, Fitzroy St, Nicholson St and its surroundings. We have disappeared behind the dark alleys and local neighbourhoods and found, among the dumpsters and white picket fences, is some of the world’s best street art.

There are thoughtful, creative, insightful stencils, murals, mixed media installations and cute postage stamp paste-ups covering every surface available, not just on walls, but also on signage, windowpanes, walls, petrol kiosks, shop front, alley ways, doors, pavements, wooden beams and mail boxes.

Much to our chagrin, there are also graffiti on the urban murals (a preferable term) which I personally think is disrespectful and creatively challenged of the culprits who obviously harbour no artistic intentions but only ideas of destruction, pollution and vandalism.

Thumbs up to those who had lovingly, painstakingly defaced the surfaces of Melbourne with their paints and spray cans. Their creative free spirited expression has contributed to the making of Melbourne, the thriving artistic city it is now. Sully on, I say!

(Disclaimer: I might be fined for encouraging these artful dodgers since ironically, the city’s anti-graffiti laws are some of the strictest in the world. It turns out that street art in Melbourne is illegal and the city’s celebrated works are at risk of being destroyed.)

Other impressive artworks can be found at these laneways:

• Hosier Lane
• AC/DC Lane and Duckboard Place
• Rutledge Place
• Union Lane

To find out more, check out: http://www.melbournegraffiti.com/

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Ying Tey

Ying Tey Reinhardt (Piccola Ying) is a Malaysian writer and copywriter based in Germany.

In her vagabonding heydays, she's backpacked to many countries, lived in a few, funded her wanderlust by teaching English to sailors on Italian cruise ships and making coffees in hipster cafes.

Her work has appeared in Marie Claire, Roads & Kingdoms, Bootsnall and OffAssignment.