Brunswick is one of the suburbs of Melbourne; it is north of the Central Business District.
below: One of the murals painted on the side of an older building on Sydney Road. This is the Retreat Hotel and the mural was painted by Buff Diss.
below: Treaty” and “Teach Black history” JESWRI (aka Jesse Wright) on the side of another older building on Sydney Road. There is a Korean BBQ restaurant on the lower level although most of the building looks a bit decrepit.
below: A series of paintings in shades of gray with a large pointy mountain in the back.
below: “Tram Kangaroo” by Mike Maka. One very large kangaroo hops along beside an old abandoned Melbourne tram (route 19, which runs along Sydney Road) in this dystopian future scene.
below: A closer look …
below: Not such an old building this time.. on the side of the Savers store is a mural by Danielle Weber. A pair of hands is trying to pull back the gray wall to reveal a tropical scene hiding behind it.
below:Zatira (aka Katherine Gailer). has used a palette of vivid colours in this mural dedicated to Teresa Bruno, a well known local chef and owner of Zia Teresa Restaurant (Italian).
below: Protest type poster where the mayor is shielded from the people by layers of armed police. People are too mesmerized by what is on their screens to care.
below: Seen at the corner of Cooke and Auahi streets in the Kaka’ako neighborhood of Honolulu – One building with at least three sides covered with street art murals.
below: On the east side is a large painting by Matt Eaton. Not shown in this photo is the tribute written in one corner that says, “In memory of our beloved uncle, Rabindra”
below: “Aloha, e komo mai” or Hello! Welcome, come in… a friendly Hawaiian greeting.
below: Creativity is my freedom. The freedom to express not impress. To impress is to become a slave to others opinions.
below: Among the leaves and flowers you can see the words, “Don’t let anyone steal your joy”.
below: Finding peace under the old gnarly tree.
below: Sitting together at the table while the dog waits underneath.
below: Trumpet players and dragons with horns and spiky tails.
below: Circles and triangles form patterns on the wall around the entrance to Aupuni Space, an artist-run art gallery.
below: On the corner of Nelson and Carlisle streets, near Balaclava station in St. Kilda East.
below: Black panther roaring with mouth open wide, fangs and teeth ready….
below: The railway crosses over Carlisle street at the north end of Balaclava station
below: Praying. Painted by Pawtl
below: Two women hanging out with a white rabbit and a white cat, by Deb.
below: Come Alive Melbourne
below: A rainbow lorikeet
below: Owls by the door
below: More owls
below: Continuing the bird theme – a very old and weathered stencil of a pigeon
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?
The next few pictures are a selection of paintings on the upper level of some of the stores on Carlisle.
below: Dana’s Patisserie
below: Many hands
below: Flowers and faces
below: “TAKE” or perhaps “TAK E” above a painting beside the walkway to Balaclava station, southbound trains.
below: On the platform, Balaclava station, “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.
below: Also seen from the platform, street art on the back of a building by the tracks.
below: Raise a steaming cup to the coffee culture that is strong here in Melbourne! Cheers!
A portrait project from 2014 – 10 years on and still looking great
A total of 528 portraits line the side of a walkway under the railway tracks in Lynn.
They are the product of a Raw Art Works project – Young artists took photos of various people in Lynn and then made portraits from those photos. The portraits also include ones that the artists made of themselves.
Raw Artworks – whose mission statement includes the words; “to ignite the desire to create and confidence to succeed”. It’s a program for youth that has been running in Lynn since 1994.
below: Large back and white mural by Alex Senna with feet overhanging a parking lot.
below: The large feet also sit above a line of circus themed images. These vignettes, so to speak, are also seen on the other side of the building (a theater). Some of them are shown here.
below: Two clowns.
below: Magic rings
below: Another magician with his props
below: “Welcome to the Golden Theater Beautiful” on one side and “Le Grand David and his Own Spectacular Magic Company” on the other.
below: Appropriately, it was painted on a bicycle store wall. Sadly, the bike shop closed in 2018 after being in business for 70 years. The frog on its bike endures.
below: Mural by Helen Bur and Sam Worthington, “Uprising”
below: This mural is dedicated to Howard Lomen (1959-2004). There are words written on the mural including: “Charles Olson and Vincent Ferrini fire their poetry pistols in a dual at niles beach.” It was painted by his son Erik Lomen. Both Olson and Ferrini (in the black hat) were poets from the Gloucester MA area (just up the coast from Beverly).
below: The blur of headlights in the night, a mural by Dana Woulfe
below: A lively flower arrangement by Hailey Bonia
below: Nowhere over fast and a burning car
below: Stay Calm and Love Your Neighbourhood
below: Stickers on a stop sign including a green snail
Ihwa-dong is a neighbourhood, built on a hill (Mount Naksan) in Seoul. Some of the houses are literally built into the city walls. Because of its hilly nature, it is often referred to as a mountain village. In 2006 as a cultural project there was an effort to transform this relatively poor section of the city into an artistic landmark by adding public art – especially murals. Seventy artists were involved. The area became a tourist destination. It was also saved from demolition and redevelopment.
In 2016 the residents petitioned to have the art removed as they did not like the increase in tourist traffic. The local government didn’t do anything so some of the residents painted over a few of the more popular murals. There are also reports of murals being painted over in 2023 … or residents adding their own art
below: A woman walks down (very down!) a street in Ihwa-dong
below: A small neighbourhood behind a fence. Bright red shutters.
below: Girl with a red balloon at number 69.
below: Little puppy dogs and a friendly kitten by the hedge
below: Toucan and monkeys. The black car is blocking the shiny green car but he doesn’t seem to mind.
below: Watching time, but it’s always ten past two; watching each other but seeing nothing.
below: Motorcycle parcel delivery (although on closer inspection, it might be a trailer load of cardboard for recycling)
below: A great place to see views of Seoul…. but there are a lot of stairs!
below: Up a narrow street (no not street, just stairs), more paintings on the walls
below: Doorway conversation
below: Square head sitting with a woman with very, very long red hair
below: Fish by the door of the shop
… fish on the wall
… and fish kissing teapots.
below: A tired old faded bear sits by the road
below: Looking down to the layer below where people are sitting outside Espresso Bar Odeoksae Coffee. They are joined by a few silent people on the walls. To the left, two camels have wandered into the scene.
below: Rainbow stripes and some silhouette figures that look they belong in Alice in Wonderland – a trumpet blowing rabbit and the queen of hearts.
below: Slouching past with his mind on other things far away….
below: Yellow shirts and flowers
below: This is Son Heung-min who is the captain of the Tottenham Hotspurs as well the South Korea national team.
below: Off to the shops with her bright red purse and blue shopping bag
below: People on the boat, fish swimming under it.
This is the back of 270 and 280 Union Street in Lynn MA as seen from the (large) parking lot. All of these murals were painted as part of the Beyond Walls program.
A closer look at the four of them…..
below: Two large murals, male and female, by Erin Holly
below: A large, vibrant mural titled “KLK Mi Gente” painted by a group of artists: Angurria (aka Nestor Garcia), Dovente (aka Johann M. Baez) Silvia López Chavez, and Willgom (aka Willy Gomez). The artists are either from the Dominican Republic or have Dominican roots.
“KLK” is an acronym for “Que lo que!,” which loosely translates to the English, in meaning and usage, as “What’s up?” The mural is a celebration of Dominican culture.
below: Hanimal, an artist from Colombia, two little guys like two peas in a pod , meticulously detailed,
below: Portuguese artist, Diogo Machado aka Add Fuel painted the top corner of the building. His ‘layers’ wrap around the corner, each layer revealing a different tile pattern.
Over the past few days I have posted pictures of some of the murals in Holyoke Massachusetts. This post will be that last one for that city for now. I know that I didn’t see everything that Holyoke has to offer but I hope to be back soon!
below: “Yagrumo” by Vero Rivera. Rainforest plant with palmate leaves – In brown and white, together forming patterns and designs.
below: Painted by David Zayas, high energy dancing, with music and movement. The rooster may not be dancing but it too moves with energy and vigor.
below: The Master of Masks, by David Zayas and Don Rimx. The mural portrays Don Raúl Ayala Carrasquillo, who was a master in the art of making vejigante masks – A vejigante is a folkloric character in Puerto Rican festival celebrations, especially during Carnival. He learned his craft from his father and he, in turn, passed the tradition on to his children.
below: “Child Flower” painted on the former Boys Club building on Race Street, by Gleo
below: Colonia – topless, draped with a Puerto Rican flag.
below: Frankie Borrero’s creation, “Transición de las antepasadas” (Transition of the Ancestors)
below: Right – The mural says EL ARCOIRIS as a tribute to an after school program created by Nueva Esperanza more than 20 years ago. They use art and murals as part of their program to engage youth. This mural is a tribute to those pioneers and was painted by Golden 305 (aka Cristhian Saravia). Previously, I posted another of his murals in Holyoke
On the left is “Chromoji” by Bikismo (aka Ismo La Joya del Caribe, or the Chrome Master)
below: An older El Arcoiris mural, faded blues with a rainbow connection between the two windows. Flowers and butterfles, and a guitar.
below: A mural on the side of a bakery. Puerto Rica and the USA, Palm trees and sunflowers. Farmers harvesting food from the fields behind the city streets.
below: There’s even a horse drawn carriage.
below: Nuestras Raices = Our Ancestors
below: On the large wall of University Products, Yo Soy I am by TakeOne and GoFive
An interesting description of this mural is on the Beyond Walls website: “Yo Soy! I am anything and everything. It is not enough to simply exist. Playing it small doesn’t serve the world, therefore it does not serve me. I embody the very essence in which life is created. I am a powerful force. I am light. I am beauty, undefined. I am capable. I am resilient. I am, You are, We are ENOUGH!”
below: As mentioned in my previous post, Holyoke has the largest number of Puerto Ricans per capita outside of that country.
El Spirit Republic of Puerto Rico – Defending our roots and our communities.
below: mmm
below: Tim Purington was a City Councilor and public health advocate who died in 2019.
below: Needle exchange programs were one of the public health initiatives that he advocated for.
below: “Iguana-boina ” by Rafique aka Rafael Enrique Vega. Here we see the union of the iguana, the symbol of the sun, and “boina”, a dark-colored snake that represents dark rain clouds. From these, life is formed. These elements are found in the Taino creation story where the cave of Iguanaboina was the primordial den from which the Sun emerges to illuminate the earth and to which it returns to hide as the moon emerges. The Taíno people were the predominant indigenous people of the Caribbean.
below: Alvin is missing the rest of his chipmunks.
A few days ago I posted pictures of the father and baby moose that Bordalo 2 made on Clemente Street and yesterday I shared images of the mural ‘La cultura es poder’…. But there are many more Holyoke murals thanks to organizations such as Beyond Walls and Nueva Esperanza. I think that I have barely scratched the surface. Photos taken July 2024
On a fence in Salem Massachusetts is a series of paintings by a group of artists who used the book “A Dream Called Home” as inspiration. The book is a memoir by Mexican-American author Reyna Grande and in it tells of her dreams of a stable home and how she makes it happen. Last year several artists participated in the project, including six local artists from the neighborhood. These are the murals on that fence.
Punto Urban Art Museum is the organization behind this project. It was founded by North Shore Community Development Coalition (North Shore CDC) in Salem’s historic El Punto neighbourhood. This fence is but one of their many projects.
below: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Tortugas” by Kearin Alexander Frias is on the left.
below: Anatomically correct heart in blue hands, a painting by Llemonmoss.
below: Left – “Home Cooked Meals Feed the Soul” by Nick Pinciaro and on the right – “Vessel” by Amanda Beard Garcia.
below: Left – “My Father’s Keeper” by Emily Kwong and on the right – “Nou La” by Rachel Domond
below: There is text in the background that is difficult to see in this photo but it is a blend of two quotes from the book: “You are now bilingual, bicultural, and binational. You are not less. You are more, twice the girl you used to be.” Painted by Yixuan Zeng
Near 125th subway station (A/B/C) there is a mosaic mural. Original artwork done by Louis Del Sarte and made into a mosaics by Franz Mayer of Munich, 2005. After it was vandalized, it was restored in 2018. It’s a lively scene with musicians and dancers enjoying themselves. Vibrant. Alive.
below: The corner of 125th (also Martin Luther King Blvd) and Frederick Douglas Blvd.
Eyes on the Streets 