This interior mural for the Dukes team at Inala PCYC was a little out of my comfort zone. I used brushes for the majority of the work and in the middle of the three day project, we threw 20+ young people into the mix, but somehow it worked. It was a challenge to keep the chaos organised as the young people were enthusiastic about applying paint to the wall, however, this was about letting the young people have some ownership over their area.
In between fighting bureaucracy and nailing some designs in the studio, I packed up my trestles and ladders and headed to Uki Supermarket, a local village fifteen minutes out of town. Dave and Bec, the Supermarket owners, required something which incorporated their branding, suited the locality and combined their own theme and design. I was pleased with the end result as I think it makes an excellent showcase of combining hand-crafted artwork with a unique branding perspective.
Last Sunday, I was part of an eight namer on the back of a factory wall in Capalaba. I really enjoyed painting some good old fashioned graff and it was great to see some many different lads from numerous crews all painting alongside each other.
A massive shout out to Kosie for doing all the hard yards with organising the gig and colour scheme. With so many walls being painted over and shut down, it’s a rare moment to have free range and paint something intrinsically motivated as opposed to a brief. It was even better to see all the lads out, as I’m sure that between us all there is a century of experience.
I can’t wait to do it all again soon.
How was your Monday? At The Sauce Studio, it was a regular, no nonsense Monday. The kind where a little bit of work gets done, some procrastination happens and then it’s lunchtime and the day is nearly done. Monday, was just the regular run of the mill Monday until Sauce made a follow up call to the Manger at Visible Ink.
For the past six months, at The Sauce Studio we’ve been following the Walls and Colours project. You might have seen the post where we expressed frustration about the project delivery, and, you’re probably wondering why we’re bothering to continue to whinge and whine about a project. Our complaints, might even sound like sour grapes, but…
At The Sauce Studio, we stand up for what we believe in, and we believe aerosol art is a legitimate art form which deserves more recognition than it currently receives. Aerosol and graffiti art is a part of the bigger sub-culture of Hip Hop and has been exploited by marking gurus for too long. We value transparent processes and practices when delivering projects to the public. Paperwork, the necessary evil, provides accountability and ensures agencies and organizations have a tangible justification for service provision.
Which takes me back to the original complaint. This Walls and Colours project, well it’s a pile of shit. The $150,000 project which is funded from the Proceeds of Crime has zero accountability. At no point has The Sauce Studio received or found an Expressions of interest. Even when we specifically requested one. But really, the bigger problem and the most disappointing fact is that young people, aerosol artists and the greater community is missing out when it comes to great public art and activities for aerosol artist enthusiasts. The proof is in the pudding. You can see the artwork and judge it yourself for quality and talent.
As a business, The Sauce Studio doesn’t require to maintain or hold a monopoly on aerosol art projects or murals, but here’s the thing; out of ten walls, and $150,000 worth of funding, we find it difficult to swallow that The Sauce Studio and Sauce would be so systematically excluded from this project. Here in the studio, we can’t join the dots to find out why this is the case. Sauce has worked with countless other councils and community agencies, all over the East Coast of Australia and we find it hard to believe that his years of experience and artistic talent could not be utilised in come fashion for this ten wall project.
So, our Monday, was a bit overrated. And that phone call with the Manger from Visible Ink, well, it was an hour of talking in circles. In fact, it would have made more sense to play chess with a pigeon.
Why are we ‘airing our dirty linen’ on the blog post? Because traditional media outlets don’t care. We want something positive to come out this mayhem. It it truly disappointing to think this type of mismanagement, incompetence and nepotism is allowed to continue while the community misses out on something which could be the benchmark for public art and community engagement. These types of tokenistic projects do little more than alienate the target audience and they certainly don’t effect cultural change.
It was business as usual this week, which means battling the Brisbane traffic and smashing out another quality mural in suburbia. This was a rejuvenation gig, as I completed a mural on the same site in 2010/11, however a section of the wall was replaced and rebuilt due to cracks. The commuters showed their appreciation with plenty of ‘toots’ and ‘thumbs up’ from the busy roadside at Eatons Crossing Road so I must be doing something right.
Fresh from my week long residency at Calvary Christian College, I headed back to Brisbane and guided the young men at Moreton Bay Boys College through the finer points of aerosol art. This was my second visit to the school and my Senior’s mural was still looking fresh.
I was invited to their Art Show on Friday, the 25th of October, which should have some interesting and exciting works. I also had the pleasure of meeting Christian from CJ Sprayart. Apparently, he was so inspired from last year’s visit, he created his own business. It doesn’t get any better than that!
For the first week back at school of term, four I was Artist in Residence for Calvary College at the Carbrook campus. This marked my fourth year at the school and as always, the school community was great to work with. I did several workshops with the art classes and completed a mural for the sports shed.
Local Aerosol Artist, Sauce has been selected as a RAW artist for the Encompass Showcase in Byron Bay on the 13th of November at the Beach Hotel.
RAW:natural born artists, is an international independent arts organization that hand-selects and spotlights independent creatives in visual art, film, fashion, music, hair & makeup artistry, photography, models and performing art.
Sauce is excited to be chosen for the local event. He said “I’m looking forward to Encompass as I enjoy painting in public. Painting in public helps breaks down stereotypes associated with aerosol art”.
Sauce has a studio in the CBD of Murwillumbah which is open to the public. The current exhibition Stains of Modernity is on display until November 22nd.
Save the date folks! We’re going to be at ENCOMPASS! Show your support by booking a ticket for the princely sum of $16.65 and get yourself to The Beach Hotel, Byron Bay on the 13th of November from 7 pm. Make sure you wear your party pants and are ready to boogie the night away. There will be all different types of artists so make a night of it and bring all your friends. See you there!
Handcrafted Artwork Since 94 - The Sauce Studio
Mural Artist - School Murals - Sign Painter - Public Art
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of Australia, and their continued connection to country and culture. We respect their Elders, past and present, and all Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Nations.
