AC/DC Lane

(and Duckboard Place)

AC/DC Lane was named for the Rock band of the same name. It has been a place for street art for many years, one of the first locations in central Melbourne.

below: Dominating the corner of the lane is Mike Makatron’s 3D sculpture of AC/DC band member, Bon Scott bursting through the wall.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne

below: Melbourne in 3D

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, The word Melbourne in gold letters, beside a drawing of a ballerina

below: In the bottom corner, RIP Malcolm Young, another member of AC/DC. The text in the word bubble is “C’mon Saint Peter, how many bloody times you gonna make me play Hell’s Bells before you let me through the gates mate?”

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, portraits of musicians at the end of the alley

below: Fintan Magee’s painting of a man carrying a tree towers over the end of the alley.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, mural by Fintan Magee of a man carrying a tree,

below: Taking selfies with Malcolm Young.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, two men taking selfies in front of musician portrait with devil horns and angel wings

below: Steen Jones painted this tall Melbourne mural with the red roses.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, woman with back to camera, taking picture of tall Melbourne mural with red roses by Steen Jones, also 2 motorcycles in the picture

below: Andy Warhol with paint splatters

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, portrait of Andy Warhol with paint splatters

below: A printed discourse on reality that starts with: “Realities can be controlled through the altered perception of real monocultrial [sic] relationships. This undeniable truth is self-evident through seeing mind’s eye. You will never be real, and in turn, that verifies your existence.” Think of it what you want.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, typed text, with scribbles in black and yellow on top

below: A boy, a girl, and a dog going for a walk, by VKM,

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, stencil of two kids walking a dog,

below: Three more posters, two female and one male, all in vibrant colours. On the left is a purple haired, and very sad, woman by Vasso. Next to her is the green haired smoker by YAYA and on the right is an interesting woman with great red sunglasses but I have no idea who created that picture.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, 3 paste ups, all of heads, two female, one male,

below: Love is love, and many others including a little Robbo-t

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, stickers and paste ups includng a robbo-t, and love is love words,

below: Rock on! Elvis Emu (by John Murray) and the red dino. What you can’t tell from this picture, is that the emu is just over 6 feet tall (i.e. a little taller than the average man). There are now many wonderful emus all over Melbourne!

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne including an emu dressed like Elvis Presley with rhinestone covered white jacket and big sunglasses

below: Neftnik’s blue woman reading an orange book while smoking her pipe.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, artwork of a woman with blue hands and face, wearing black and white striped stockings, and a black and white jacket, holding an orange book while smoking a pipe

below: A blue girl in a flowery dress and a blue bunny rabbit, more blueness from Neftnik.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, paste ups, blue bunny, and little girl in blue with a floral dress on, by Neftnik

below: Christmas street art! Lots of Santa Clauses and even a reindeer or two.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, Christmas theme street art, Santa Claus, snowflakes, reindeer,

below: … and the festive season continues… with Batman delivering presents down chimneys. This is one of many places in Melbourne that were “decorated” for Christmas, see “A Christmas collection of friends” for more pictures.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, Christmas theme street art, Santa Claus, snowflakes, reindeer, batman, tweet cat with balloons,

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, stickers and paste ups, Christmas theme

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne

below: Salvador Dali looking a little surreal beside another blue person by Neftnik.

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne

below: Carmadymnd’s little diamond shaped mosaic

street art, small piece, diamond shaped made with mosaic tiles and glass beads,

below: by French artist, Vale,

stencil of a blue eyed child in helmet and vest, spray paint cans on vest, peace symbol on sleeve of t shirt,

below: She leap frogs over, by JAH

street art in AC DC Lane< street art in AC DC Lane

below: “You don’t deserve all the bad things you say to yourself” beside a blue eyed woman by Jover. Muttley snickers in the bottom corner.

You don't deserve all the bad things you say to yourself text on a sticker, also a paste up by Jover of woman's face, with blue eyes,

below: Michael Caine looks a little bored by it all.

portrait of Michael Caine, black and white photo, on poster, as a paste up in AC DC lane.

below: Lumpkin definition: A blundering fool; A clumsy and often stupid person.

urban art in AC DC lane in Melbourne, cutout letters form the word lumpkin

below: Alice falls. The Queen of Hearts along with the two of clubs and other cards fall with her.

urban art in AC DC lane in Melbourne, Alice in Wonderland is falling, along with some playing cards like the queen of hearts, 2 of clubs.  Alice is wearing blue dress with white apron, red shoes,

below: “I yam what I yam,” I’m Popeye the sailor man. It looks like he’s still eating his spinach.

urban art in AC DC lane in Melbourne, popeye the sailor man cartoon character

below: Asian woman with a fan

urban art in AC DC lane in Melbourne, Asian looking woman with a fan

below: Keep calm and plant a tree.

urban art in AC DC lane in Melbourne, sticker that says keep calm and plant a tree

below: “Lets laugh while we still can” by Loui Jover

urban art in AC DC lane in Melbourne, with text that says Lets laugh while we still can, written on woman's face,  by Jover

below: A very strange looking slightly abstract man, also by Jover

urban art in AC DC lane in Melbourne, portrait of a man, in profile, by Jover, attempt at cubism, or abstract of one sort or another

below: More contributions to the alley from Vasso and Jover

street art in ACDC lane, central Melbourne, stickers and paste ups,

below: “Always learn” along with “We don’t need more we need to be more”.

urban art in AC DC lane in Melbourne, paste up by Jover of woman's head but instead of facial features, has text that says we don't need more, we need to be more.   another sticker that says always learn

below: Rocket man, literally, on guitar

urban art in AC DC lane in Melbourne, headless (white paint sprayed over head) guitar player with big red boots that are also flaming rockets, stencil on brick wall

Photos taken February 2025

The Container Yard

 800 East 4th Street, Los Angeles

below: A portrait of Andy Warhol beside Desire, Obtain, and Cherish

A large building with 3 large garage doors. Each door has a word painted on it, desire, obtain, cherish. A large street art painting surrounds the words - swirls and stars. Part of the side of the building also has street art - a large black and white painting of Andy Warhol.

below: I love LA!

colourful tags, or parts of tags, with two coffee mug shapes with faces, one white and one orange. The orange one is sticking out its tongue at a grey mug shape that has "I love LA" on it, along with a red heart

below: Runny, droopy, eyes in a colourful mural by Vyal Reyes.

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_multicolor_eyes

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_pointy_nosebelow: Two birds in flight, birds with feathery wings in blues, purples, and black.

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_purple_birds

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_queen_hearts

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_balloons

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_deerbelow: “Woke up sleeping, woke up still dreaming”, a mural by Christina Angelina, EaseOne, and SEK

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_dreaming

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_ladderbelow: The letters spell Craola and Self and of course, the artist is Craola aka Greg Simkins.

Large street art painting of the tag 'Boogie' with a mouse like head in the middle

below: A very square and very still robot. Cookie.

tall graffiti robot with a square head. Signed 'Cookie'. He's in a corner and not that well seen unfortunately below: It’s probably unfinished?  Each image is a letter of the alphabet?  Maybe it ends with R O E?   An image search with google was not helpful so I only have questions….

unfinished street art on a wall. Someone has painted the words 'rained out' below it

angles and triangles predominate in this street art painting.

blog_desire_obtain_cherish_little_guy

With thanks to Landon who let me walk around with my camera.
Photos taken in 2015

The Container Yard story

Williamsburg murals

Most of these murals can be seen on, or close to, Bedford Avenue.

below: A large snail by Australian artist Mike Makatron, but not just an ordinary snail – this one has stairs leading up to a fire hydrant on top of its spiral shell.

snail mural by mike makatron
close up of snail mural, fire hydrant on top of shell

below: “Song to the Siren” by Naveen Shakil Khan, 2021

mual in black and white of 5 women's faces, long hair, composite of 3 portraits, by Naveen Shariz

Where Bedford Avenue meets Broadway and South 6th Street is a large mural of a young woman with her hands under her chin. The title of the painting is “Lost Time” but it has become known as the Williamsburg Mona Lisa. The mural (by Colossal Media) is from a photograph by Steven Paul (of his friend Nina Attal). Paul was a high school senior from Brooklyn in 2014 when he submitted the photo to a contest sponsored by Scholastic … and won.

large mural in greyish blue tones of a young woman in a striped long sleeved shirt, short hairr, resting with hands on chin,

below: Eduardo Kobra boxers but not really boxers, Andy Warhol is on the left and Jean-Michel Basquiat is beside him.

kobra multicoloured mural of andy warhol and jean michel basquiat in boxing shorts and boxing gloves, with arms crossed in front of themselves, mural at bedford and ninth in williamsburg new york city

Jean-Michel Basquiat and # Fight for street art

below: This anti-war Elvis Presely mural was also painted by Kobra. Unfortunately it has been defaced, almost literally as it is mostly Presley’s face that has been painted over.

part of a defaced mural, white tag over picture of Elvis Presley, name tag on army uniform saying Presley is clearly seen

below: The Moxy Hotel Williamsburg recently opened on Bedford Avenue.  On the upper level, south side, of the hotel is a mural by DFace.  It can be seen from the Williamsburg bridge, and is near the pedestrian entrance to the bridge.  DFace’s style is reminiscent of paintings by Roy Lichtenstein. a man crosses Bedford by the bridge for the ramo to the Williamsburg bridge, a mural is above the bridge but on other side o frailway

mural by d face on upper storey of moxy hotel in williamsburg, a woman passenger in a car, man driving, woman is thinking, just get me to the moxy

On a black wall, a Chris Tuorto hand with clenched fist beside a very simple donut

mural of a clenched fist in pastel colours, with black outline, on a black wall
Williamsburg street sccene, mid rise buildings, traffic, water tower on roof,
street art on upper levels of building exterior

Photos taken August 2023

Kobra on 10th Avenue

in Manhattan NY

There are two large colourful murals on 10th Avenue that were painted by Eduardo Kobra. Both are visible from the High Line, Manhattan’s elevated park.

below: Mother Teresa and Gandhi as seen from the High Line

view of 10th Avenue in Manhattan from the High Line park, including a Kobra mural of Mother Teresa and Gandhi

and then closer up, face to face, respectful, hopeful

a digger is parked on the street in front of a building with a mural on the upper level, a painting of Mother Teresa and Gandhi face to face, in many colours, by Kobra

below: A hint of a second mural – Andy Warhol can be spotted between two buildings.

glimpse of a mural with portrait of Andy Warhol in the background, seen in a gap between two taller brick buildings

below: Above the Empire Diner in West Chelsea is this mural inspired by the carvings on Mount Rushmore, a re-imagining of it if you will. Instead of four American presidents there are four famous artists – Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Mt Rushmore theme mural by Kobra with multi coloured portraits of four famous people, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Keith Haring and another famous artist, Jean Michel Basquiat

Photos taken October 2022

Wabash street and vicinity, Chicago

The Wabash Arts Corridor, founded in 2013, is a portion of Wabash Street in downtown Chicago. It is now the home of many large murals in a wide variety of styles.  I know that I didn’t find them all, but here is a large selection of them.  I’ve also included some smaller pieces that aren’t necessarily part of this project.

two murals on a wall on Wabash street in Chicago, on the wall Columbia college, beside a parking lot with a little bright orange car as well as other cars

below: A peacock painted in black and white by thedailydrizz aka Andrea Dunn

mural of a peacock done in black and white paint and made to look like it was done on 4 pieces of paper, on an old brick wall, by Andrea Dunn, a k a the daily drizz

below: Slime Mountain by Heidi Unkefer

mural in pastels tones, a reddish triangle, point down, and a light blue triangle, point up, meet in the middle, face on blue one, hands and little creatures too,

below: by Jordan Nickel, aka POSE

a bright collage-like mural

below: Many faces on the walls at this corner.  On one side are colourful abstract faces by Kashink,

two level parking structure on a street corner in Chicago, the short walls are painted with street art faces. On one side are colourful abstract faces by Kashink and on the other side are black and white faces from the project called Stop Telling Women to Smile.

below: “Stop Telling Women to Smile” is the title of the series on the other walls of the parking structure, a series of women’s faces in grey tones by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh

on the walls of a parking structure, a line of realistic faces in grey tones, a man sits on a bench beside it

on the walls of a parking structure, a line of realistic faces in grey tones, two rows high

below: A mural by Darryll Schiff, “Descending into Heaven”

mural on a wall, black people in silhouette walking towards numbers in LED lights that look digital

below: By Lady Lucx and Sarah Stewart, an untitled piece on a parking structure wall.

walls of an elevated parking structure painted in an octopus mural

close up of the eye of an orange octopus in a mural by a parking structure

2 murals on Balbao street in Chicago, a blue one by a parking lot and one by asup on the side of a restaurant,

below: Mural  called “Make Your Own Luck” a group of cyclists by asvp on the side of the South Loop Club Bar & Grill
mural by asup on the side of a bar and grill on Balboa street in Chicago, in red, white and pale blue

below: “High Tide” by Amuse126

a large watery blue mural

below: Sticker, Lucky Gnome proclaiming happy changes in his life.
a sticker made with a USA postal sticker, picture of a gnome with words,

below: A paste up on a post, Andy Warhol
paste up of Andy Warhol on a post

below: “X Marks the Milky Way” by Renee Robbins, 2016

X Marks the Milky Way, a mural in a Chicago alley by Renee Robbins, abstract colours and shapes on a teal background

below: “Gift to the Class of 2016” by Don’t Fret

mural on wall above mollys Cupcakes in Chicago, a man with hands by mouth

below: On “The El” where orange & green line trains pass by

large murals on walls surrounding a parking lot that has an elevated train passing over it

below: Just the “Y” at the end of the word “Harmony” in a mural by Ben Eine beside a silver and grey mural by Marquis Lewis aka Retna

part of two murals, the letter Y and one in silver and grey

below: “Moose Bubblegum Bubble” by Jacob Watts

large mural of a moose blowing a big pink bubble with bubble gum

below: “We Own the Future” by Shepard Fairey in the same style as his “Obey” series

mural by obey in red, black, and gold, on upper storey of a brick building in Chicago

below: Watching over black horses on grey, a mural by Ricky Lee Gordon called “I am You, You are Me”.

horizontal mural of a woman's head in profile and horses, in black on grey

below: by Hera, “Imagine if we could Tolerate Each Other’s Differences”

on the upper storeys of a brick building in Chicago, a mural by Hera of a woman holding some birds in her hand, a small white figure stands beside her

below: A redheaded woodpecker. This is only a part of a larger mural that has been covered over by a large ad.  It was “From Boom to Doom” by Collin van der Slujis.   Seems like doom has won.

part of a mural, a large red head woodpecker, but rest of mural has been covered over by a large ad

below: “Impossible Meeting” by Marina Zumi
a mural by Marina Zumt of a doe and a buck, two deers, meeting nose to nose, painted in blues and purples

below: On the far right, by antckone aka Anthony Lewellen

four vertical panels close together, the two on the left are portraits, then an elephant and then a cartoon character by antckone

below: Butterflies on the corner.  There are many butterflies in this mural by Hector Duarte.  It is a representation of Mexican immigration.

a butterfly painted on the corner of a building

below: Within the confines of a small dog run, Melanie Vazquez‘s “Contra Todo Siendo Resistendo”

a mural behind a fence, pink, with yellow sun and green cactii

below: A large mural in a small space. “Standing Wave” by Justus Roe

large abstract mural beside a parking lot, small area, also in a fenced in space

below: Part of “Listen to Learn” by Hello Kirsten aka Kirsten McCrea.   Using an old telephone receiver to shed light on life.  The fence was a barrier.

car parked beside a mural, large hand holding an old fashioned telephone receiver but using is as a flashlight

below: The other side of the fence and the other side of the mural

mural by Hello Kirsten on the side of a brick building with a blue exterior metal staircase

below: A second rate photo I’m afraid.  It’s taken through the window of a moving train… and I forgot to go back and find the mural after I got off the train.  It is 8100-square-foot mural painted by Italian street artist Never 2501 in 2015.

seen through the window of a train, a large mural in Chicago

below: Ruben Aguirre, “Drowning City”

orange shapes on black, mural

below: Sun bum is winning.   J.C. Rivera’s “The Bear Champ vs Sonny”two cartoon-like characters wrestling of boxing, one has shirt on that says sun bum

mural in bright oranges and reds, sharp edges, linear, and across the street are portraits of musicians done in tile shaped pieces

on the corner of a building, on both sides, a mural in bright oranges and reds, sharp edges, linear, with a realistic hand as well,

mural in bright oranges and reds, sharp edges, linear, with a realistic hand as well, people walking past it, one man with hand out pointing at something

carol taking a picture of a row of murals of black musicians done in little squares on a brick wall in Chicago

mural of a black man singer made in tiles in blacks and white with shades of blue

photo (or photo like picture on a wall of a man looking at a tornado made of objects