Author Archives: Mary C

hope and trust in Port Philllip

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This structure stands in a park in Port Phillip (St. Kilda) Melbourne.

small square building with no windows, street art on the two sides that meet,

below: An owl on the left and a lion’s head on the right – with a can of spray paint in the middle.
mural with a brown owl on the left and a lion's head on the right top,

below: The interesting part of the artwork is the other wall. Here there is a large image made of ceramic tiles. You can find many familiar St. Kilda landmarks in the picture – the pier, Luna Park, and the beach for instance. The central image is surrounded by squares decorated with various symbols, pictures, and/or words.

central image in a street art mural made of ceramis. the central image has many elements, in general it is a seaside view of St. Kilda with Luna Park, and the St. Kilda marina.

below: “TRUST” as well as “Bad Spellers of the world untie”

hand decorated ceramic tiles arranged in a mosaic as street art on a building in a park in Port Phillip Australia, including words like trust, and bad spellers of the world untie

below: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined.” as well as “Belonging to something, to someone, that’s what health’s about”

hand decorated ceramic tiles arranged in a mosaic as street art on a building in a park in Port Phillip Australia,

below: “Silence never won rights.  They are not handed down from above, they are forced by pressure below.”

hand decorated ceramic tiles arranged in a mosaic as street art on a building in a park in Port Phillip Australia

below: “HOPE” as well as as Thoreau quote: “The world is but canvas to our imagination.”  It also asks a question: “Would it be a problem if you had a peaceful mind?”.

“Welcome to our site of community reflection, respect, recovery, resistance, compassion across difference. This is a place where differences are forgotten and your heart unites with others. This mural was launched on the 4th of Dec 2009 by Frank O’Connor (mayor), Serge Thomann, Mirka Mora, Carolyn Briggs, Aunty Jacks.

Legacy mosaics – 9 years later

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ANZAC Centenary, Legacy Street Art Project

This post updates one from January 2016 (Legacy Mosaics)

Legacy is a charity that supports widows, children, and disable dependents of Australia’s injured or deceased military veterans.  Drewery Lane in downtown Melbourne runs behind Legacy House.  Over the four year Centenary of ANZAC period (2014 – 2018), held workshops that allowed the local community to interact and engage with the personal and shared histories of the Legacy Family.  Workshop participants created clay tiles and plaques with some connection to WW1.  The plan is to attach 1000 of these mosaic pieces to the back of Legacy House.  In November 2015, the first tiles were installed.

A few comparison photos (more added since January 2016, and the majority are in good condition):

2016:

white square tile with the word legacy and a picture of three people, attached to an exterior wall with numerous small clay pieces around it.

2025:

Legacy project, adding clay tiles to a wall, each with an image on it
2016
many clay pieces, a sword,an anchor, some with words, attached to a wall, part of a Legacy project for ANZAC commemoration
2025
Legacy ceramic tile mosaic project

2016:
many clay pieces, a hand, some with words, attached to a wall, part of a Legacy project for ANZAC commemoration

2025:

And a few more views from 2025 –

below: Sir Stanley Savige (1890-1954), founder of Legacy, shown in mosaic.

legacy founder portrait in mosaic added to legacy wall of ceramic tiles, to commemorate ANZAC

below: A small green helicopter joins the group.

Legacy ceramics, plus a green helicopter

below: Invader mosaics, a green tank, and a couple of hearts.

invader mosaics plus legacy ceramics in drewery lane,

wall behind Legacy House decorated with ceramic tiles that have been made by legacy participants

below: Another mosaic portrait is on the wall – this is General Sir John Monash (1865-1931). He was commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt, one of the many Australian and New Zealand groups that were involved in the Gallipoli campaign of April 1915 to January 1916.

legacy ceramics wall, along with portrait of

below: Some words: “My dad, he lived on Drewery Lane and Lt Lon. (Little Lonsdale) and loved the restaurants and shops and markets of Melbourne”

ceramics on legacy wall in drewery lane

Other words: “My grandfather, Lieutenant Michael Harold Sorokiewitch, Southwick MBBS (RAMC) (1893-1957) Melbourne. Surgeon at Gallipoli and Lemnos (1915-1916) then served in military hospitals in Britain” Adele

close up of some of the ceramic pieces created for the legacy wall

a section of the legacy wall

Russell Place

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below: A dominant feature in Russell Lane is a large yellow and blue mural by Kitt Bennett that runs along the wall of a parking structure.

part of a large mural in yellow and blue, includes a pigeon, a flower with many petals, and the wheel of a motorcycle

below: Meet “Princess” with her star wand – a mural commissioned by Melbourne City Council.  She stands 24 metres tall in her sneakers. Her pink dress had faded a bit but she is as big and as tall as ever! Painted by Baby Guerilla.

Princess, a large 24 meter tall painting by baby guerilla, on a concrete wall in russell place, melbourne. a young girl in a faded pink dress and clunky shoes

Princess, a large 24 meter tall painting by baby guerilla, on a concrete wall in russell place, melbourne. a young girl in a faded pink dress and clunky shoes

below: There are paste-ups and stencils in some of the doorways – a pink flower in a purple pot along with a number of women.

graffiti, a large pink flower with many petals growing on a sturdy stem in a small purple plant pot

street art image of a young woman, standing,

street art image of a young woman with a bouquet of flowers where her hair should be

street art image of a young woman, all in blue, wearing bikini, with 2 pairs of eyes, and a spider web by her face and head

below: A Kaff-eine mural behind a fence.

below: Keeping an eye on the lane…..

square paste up of a man's eye

part of a large blue and yellow mural by kitt bennett

Photos taken March 2025

near Balaclava train station

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below: On the corner of Nelson and Carlisle streets, near Balaclava station in St. Kilda East.

stores, on a corner,

below: Black panther roaring with mouth open wide, fangs and teeth ready….

street art painting of a black panther with mouth open showing large white fangs

below: The railway crosses over Carlisle street at the north end of Balaclava station

railway tracks, bridge over carlisle street,

below: Praying. Painted by Pawtl

mural of a man with hands closed in prayer

below: Two women hanging out with a white rabbit and a white cat, by Deb.

street art painting of two woman, stylize, with short tops, exposed middles, and long skirts with hearts on them. Saturn and a white cat in the background

below: Come Alive Melbourne

cars parked in front of a mural

below:  A rainbow lorikeet

street art painting of a rainbow lorikeet bird, on a tree branch

below: Owls by the door

a door in the middle of a street art painting of owls including two small baby owls

below: More owls

street art painting of three owl faces,

below: Continuing the bird theme – a very old and weathered stencil of a pigeon

weathered black and white stencil of a pigeon, on a red brick wall

below: Another oldie, a paste-up of many people.  One person in a red and white striped shirt, holding a toddler.  A girl with long hair wearing a checkered red and white dress; she’s holding something like a brown box in her hands.  Beside her is a girl who is wearing a white top and a blue skirt. Who else can you see?

paste up of a group of people, very small

 The next few pictures are a  selection of paintings on the upper level of some of the stores on Carlisle.

below: Dana’s Patisserie

upper level, exterior, of Danas Patisserie on Carlisle street, with painting of a woman with a potted cactus and a black and white flower in a pot.

below: Many hands

paintings of three hands on upper level of a storefront, carlisle street, melbourne

below: Flowers and faces

paintings on the upper level of two adjacent stores, one with flowers on a green background and one with four portraits

below: “TAKE” or perhaps “TAK E” above a painting beside the walkway to Balaclava station, southbound trains.

store on Carlisle street beside ramp up to balaclava station, with large orange mural on one side of the building. the word take is above the mural large orange mural

below: On the platform, Balaclava station, “Shake was here”

platform at Balaclava station, with building behind, has text graffiti that says shake was here

below: Gradients in blue and orange cover the ground floor level of a new development beside the station – seen from the station platform.

stripes forming gradients in blues and oranges along the side of a building including the door to a garage

below: Also seen from the platform, street art on the back of a building by the tracks.

throw up calligraphy type street art,

below: Raise a steaming cup to the coffee culture that is strong here in Melbourne! Cheers!

little blue and white graffiti sticker, man walking while holding a cup with steam coming off of it

Photos taken March 2025

Louden Place

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…

below: On one side of the alley is this long mural that comes in two sections – a sleeping woman with an outstretched hand is a collaboration between Vexta and Lisa King.

mural by vexta and lisa king, woman lying down on a rainbow of bright colours, on her back, eyes closed, hand outstretched with object in hand, in two sections, woman is in shades of grey

mural by vexta and lisa king, woman lying down on a rainbow of bright colours, on her back, eyes closed, hand outstretched with object in hand, in two sections, woman is in shades of grey

… and a little bird stands on her forehead.part of a mural by vexta and lis king, of a black and white bird, black back, black head, and white tummy,

below: The wall of the other alley is covered by a black and white painting of kangaroos, birds, and other animals… along with some plants. A few red feathers brighten the image.  It was painted by Minna Leunig, an Australian artist from Darwin.

part of a mural by minna leunig, black stylized kangaroos and birds on a white background

part of a mural by minna leunig, black stylized kangaroos and birds on a white background

below: It’s easy to miss because of its location, but if you go to the end of the lane and look way up, you’ll catch a glimpse of this mural by Cam Scale.

at the end of Louden Place, high up on a tall brick building, a mural by Cam Scale, a man's portrait done in black paint

at the end of Louden Place, high up on a tall brick building, a mural by Cam Scale, a man's portrait done in black paint

portraits on Little Bourke

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Near the west end of Little Bourke Street are 4 large murals that feature people.

below: First there is this couple whose bed is high above the street – painted by Fintan Magee

large mural by Fintan Magee, a couple on a bed, fully clothed,

a small red car is parked in front of a building with two large murals on it, directly behind the car is a large portrait of an old man with beard and mustache by smug. beside it is a painting of a woman who looks like she is looking at the car

below: The old man, pictured above as well as here, was painted by Smug, aka Sam Bates.

portrait of an older man with beard and mustache by street artist smug, also known as Sam Bates,

below:  Next to the old man are two women in blue painted by Rone.

large mural portraits on Little Bourke street in Melbourne including one with two women's portraits painted by rone.

below: Last, is this portrait of a young man looking skyward, by Adnate (whose portrait of a mother and child is featured in a mural seen in Albany Alley that was shown here in a previous post).

large mural of a young man's portrait by adnate

below: Photos taken March 2025

bright lights

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Pasted onto a wall in Baptist Lane, Melbourne, is a woolen string of paper lights where each light bulb is a little artwork.

on a wall painted yellow, paste up graffiti of a string of light bulbs where each bulb is a little artwork by a different artist

below: Julybubble80’s blue cat has grown wings

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, blue, with a cat, by julybubble80

below: Another julybubble cat along with “Aimer”, two red and blue whale (fish?) tails that come together to form a heart by NBF Street (Sirène in the street). A little fairy holds a gold star, the work of Balaet Balaets.  “Viens, on rêve… (come, let’s dream).

on a wall painted yellow, paste up graffiti of a string of light bulbs where each bulb is a little artwork by a different artist, 3 bulbs

below: Little yellow rubber duckies – these traveling ducks (canards vagabonds) are having more adventures!

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, a group of yellow ducks, with pencil crayons, canards vagabonds

below: With her usual cat-like persona, tweet_streetart holds an Aussie flag waving koala.

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, person with a cat head hold a grey koala who in turn is holding an Australian flag

below: It’s pink bandana is signed, Valcu G.

below: A cheeky little blue octopus sits on a light bulb that contains a fish (artist: o21_simplement).

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, a little blue octopus with its tongue sticking out, sits on top of one of the bulbs that contains a small fish. the other light bulb has a cat head, rest of bulb is out of the picture

below: Two images of little women by wall_lilo

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, by wall lilo paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, by wall lilo

below: Paddywagon is an artist who combine street art and cyanotypes (a process that creates white images on blue like the.  Here, a small light bulb showcases one of her images of tiny compound leaves.  To the left, “Come on baby, light my fire”, a woman with long and flowing yellow hair, by Wild Wonder Woman.
paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb, wild wonder woman and paddywagon cyanotype of leaves

below: A second Wild Wonder Woman, this time her long yellow hair flows down her bare back and wraps around her swing.  Next to her is a picture by Felfi (aka tanzt_die_orange), a Dutch artist.

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb,

below: Close by is a second set of light bulbs with art by the same artists – you might recognize some of them!

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb,

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb,

paper pasteup on yellow wall, shape of a light bulb,

Photos taken February 2025

words on a pole

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There is a pole, or pipe (downspout?) in Baptist Place, Melbourne, that is covered with many little drawings.  They are all slogans or phrases written using music scores as a paper source.   I am not sure what songs were used (or if that has any relevance?) but the lyrics are written at least two languages.  At the top is  “Eat the Rich” .

on a pole, or pipe, in an alley, covered with pasteups, paper, posters, that are words written artistically on old music scores

below: Next comes “Resist”.  I was curious about what song was in the background, so I checked google translate – “qui quae-runt” is Latin for “those who run”.
paste up with the word resists written in large letters aver music score

below:  …   and then “Riots not Diets”
riots not diets are the words written on this paste up

below:  “Mad Pride”

mad pride, text in artwork, on pasteup

below: “Alt Right Delete”, but now the lyrics are in English and include “the water” and “somersaults”

alt right delete text in artwork on paste up

below: “Fat so?” with more lyrics like “averte mala” and “tu a disperde”

fat so? is the question asked here

below: “Cats Rule” in bright colours.

cats rule, text in many colours, paste up

below: The bottom paste-up has the number 13 written above the number 12. Is this a hint as to who the artist is?

the number 13 above the number 12

Photos taken February 2025

three women of Lynn

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This post highlights three murals in Lynn Massachusetts that feature a portrait of a woman.  They certainly aren’t the only women portrayed in Lynn, they just happen to be located close to each other.

below:  Layers of women.  Two portraits on different buildings but from the same viewpoint.  In front, “The Protector” by David Zays; In back, a mural by Marka27.

from a parking lot in Lynn, two murals on two different buildings, one partially obscured by the other. David Zayas woman in a white blouse with a rooster on her shoulder is in front

below: From a better angle, the woman in blue with a yellow flower in her hand in the mural by Marka27, aka Victor Quinonez.

large mural by marka 27, also known as victor quinonez, of a woman in a blue robe holding a yellow flower in her outstretched hand, on the side of a large building

below: Yellow petals flying away, blowing in the breeze.

close up of a part of a mural by marka27, hand out with yellow flowers

below: “The Protector”, a mural by David Zayas.  Like many of his murals, there is a lot of symbolism.  The aloe plant is known for its healing properties and hence  is a symbol of protection. The rooster on her shoulder represents the resilience and fighting spirit that we need when life get tough.

a large mural by David Zayas of a woman in a white blouse with a rooster on her shoulder

below: Looking closer at the intricate detail in the rose pattern in her blouse and the detail in the rooster’s colourful feathers.  close up of part of a David Zayas mural of woman in a white blouse with rose patterns in it, and with a rooster on her shoulder

below: The orange colour in the bird has faded a bit so it’s more difficult to tell that it is a robin.

part of a david zayas mural, arm of woman, with a vine, also a robin

below: “Grandma Eve” by Helen Bur is on the same building as the Davd Zayas mural, but on the other side. Bur’s grandmother is shown holding a playbill designed by her husband during WW2 when he was a prisoner of war in the Pacific. The prisoners put on a play, ‘Murder at Sea’, and the artist’s grandfather designed the playbill for the show.

part of a mural by helen bur, an older woman sitting, holding a book called murder at sea

Photos taken July 2024