Legacy mosaics – 9 years later

Posted on March 9, 2025 by Mary C

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”

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

Spirit of Harlem

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Mary C

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.

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, musicians, drummers, bass players, and women dancing

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, brass band, women dancing

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, man in hat watching musicians

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, woman floating above dance floor,

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, black woman dancing and floating

spirit of harlem mosaic mural in new york city, woman with a shiny blue necklace

below: The corner of 125th (also Martin Luther King Blvd) and Frederick Douglas Blvd.

beside Straat’s door

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Mary C

Amsterdam has a large museum/gallery dedicated to street art. It is located on the grounds of an old shipyard, a short ferry ride away from the central part of the city. Some of the murals are outside, along with a lot of graffiti that has been added over time. The works that I have included in this blogpost are what I saw around the outside of the entrance to STRAAT, the indoor gallery

below: A large metal door or gate that various people have left their mark on.

below: Top of the box, two portrait pasteups by Jeremy Novy, as well as two white hands.

below: Just smile on the frame of what once was a mirror. This was contributed to the space by navarriky.

below: A black and white image that is starting to peel.

below: On the other side of the entrance, is a wall that has served as a canvas for a few artists.

below: “The Asseastant” by FALCO, A nude but athletic thrower of life rings. Saving someone? On FALCO’s instagram page there is this description of the work: “”THE ASSEASTANT“ is a message of hope, altruism and activism. It highlights the media absence of hundreds of thousands of human beings who perish braving the seas to escape war, famine or misery vs 5 rich passengers on a touristic submarine cruise.”

below: A head of a large red heart, love, with a halo, the work of Faben,

below: Little girl destruction, a black and white by Dutch artist N888K

below: Barbie and the riot police. She gracefully dances in her tutu as they haul her away. Graffiti on tiles.

below: Hello Flynn and an ice cream cone with a very long tongue

below:words

De La Main D’Or

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Mary C

Passage De La Main D’Or is a narrow street in the 11th arr. in Paris. At one point the street turns and becomes Rue De La Main D’Or. It is at this turning point that I saw the following:

below: Street scene, Passage De La Main D’Or with markings and small artworks on a wall.

street scene, narrow street in Paris, Passage De La Main D'Or

below: She’s printed on pre-printed paper. It appears to be a cocktail drink list written in English with Bloody Mary being the last drink on her neck. Another drink on the list is gin, lime juice, and simple syrup.

graffiti pasteup, drawing of young woman on a page torn from a book

below: William Njo, aka NJO 972

black stencil artwork on stone wall, woman portrait by William Njo

below: Many little things. At the very top is a brightly coloured Stoeyes image of a young woman with a blue face. Just below her are three “tourists” with their phones and their Paris bags drawn by Erwan Guerroué.

below: “Love My Life” by Nevoul Art

Love my Life text beside image of smiling girl

2 slaps on a wall in grey tones, one is a father and son waking away, walking together. The other is a drawing of an animal

below: Mosiac tile shapes, a running person who’s hard to see, and a black and white photo in the top right corner. The photo shows a woman standing outside a building and smoking a cigarette. It has been given the title Respiro and it is signed Les Vies Dansent.

collection of graffiti on a wall, some tile mosaics, a black and white photo, and a

portraits on Rue Lambert

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Mary C

First, there was this small portrait by Morèje, aka Jérôme Gulon. His street art pieces have mosaic frames made from tiny multicoloured tiles. Back in 2015, he made a series of portraits to honour the people who died in the Charlie Hebdo shooting. These can be seen in a blog post from 2016.

small hand drawn portrait of a young man surrounded by a frame made of many small tiles in different colours

The rest of the portraits on Rue Lambert are part of Rue Meurt D’Art, projects by Jean-Marc Paumier including these; the one on the left strongly resembles the man in the above portrait.

two portraits, with text, on a wall on rue Lambert in Paris, one male and one female, both by Jean Marc Paumier

below: “voyer quelle aurore se leve, un souffle et tout est efface” [see what dawn is rising, one breath and everything is erased”]

portrait of a woman, exterior, collage, street art

below: “Le poete est un voleur de feu” [The poet is a thief of fire]

portrait of a young man on a Paris street

below: “Revons c’est l’heure” [Let’s see it again].

portrait of a man with mustache and bushy beard, black ascot tie and blue jacket, street art, with text, rue meurte d'art

below: “Prenons donc notre place sans la mendier ” [let’s take our place without begging]

portrait of a man, exterior, street art,

below: “L’art est le plus beau des mensonges” [Art is the most beautiful of lies]

Translations were done using Google Translate, therefore there may be errors.
Photos taken June 2022.

another Casablanca wall

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Mary C

A low wall in the older part of the city… if I remember correctly it might be on one side of a taxi parking lot? As I was taking pictures, an older man stopped to talk to me about the paintings on the wall. I think that he said that a group of students painted it.

The mural is full of Casablanca scenes such as this image of the Hussan 2 mosque.

below: Typical Moroccan tile work.

below: Curly metal railings and grilles like this can be seen all over Morocco.

below: The Moroccan flag is a green star on a red background.

J-DEF Peace Project, mosaic, Pilsen

Posted on August 18, 2019 by Mary C

Near the 18th Street CTA stop on the pink line, and in the Pilsen area of Chicago, is a mosaic mural by the J-DEF Peace Project.

purple background, mosaic mural, words that say J DEF peace project

mosaic mural outside on a wall at 18th and Paulina in Pilsen area of Chicago, an arm raised with a fist along with the words paz, talk to your neighbors

part of a mural at 18th and Paulina in Pilsen area of Chicago, by J-DEF peace project, a portrait of Jeff Maldonado Jr. for whom the project is named after, as well as a picture with the theme of create safe places away from gun violence

The J-DEF Peace Project by the parents of Jeff Maldonado who was shot a day after his 19th birthday. It is a program that works towards ending gun violence among Chicago’s youth. They have made a safe place for young people to come together to participate in art projects and other programs.

moasaic mural of tiles with words create safe places. A picture of a body outline on the ground with three red hearts, also shadows of two people with long hair on swings. A man plays a drum with the words Rudy Avina

below: A tribute to Ana Mateo, Francisco Mendoza, and Javier Merino.
Pilsen wall of honor part of mosaic mural, pictures and names of three people, young girl Ana Mateo, and two men, Francisco Mendoza and Javier Merino.

below: Police officer Brian Strouse is also on the Wall of Honor.

mosaic tribute to policeman, Brian Strouse, along with the words we need to work hard to make the world better

The words under the four portraits say:
“We need to work hard to make the world better
Stop killin’ each other, start comin’ together
But the things you want in life like the cars and the bling
Got you blinded by the fact that its only a dream.”

below: The end of the mural, “make smart choices”.

part of a mosaic mural, J DEF peace project, back of a car, with words make smart choices

Curtain Rd., East London

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Mary C

A short and simple blog post. Just two pieces of street art from Curtain Road, and both can be seen from the same spot.

below: A mural of a couple embracing on the side of the Horse & Groom.

road construction, some older brick buildings and new skyrises in the background. On the wall of the Horse and Groom is a large vertical mural of a naked couple embracing while standing up

below: For Star Wars fans, a large invader piece of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, light sabers at the ready.

two large invader street artist pieces make of square tiles, a Luke Skywalker in white with a blue light saber and Darth Vader in black with his red light saber, on a grey concrete wall

two large invader street artist pieces make of square tiles, a Luke Skywalker in white with a blue light saber and Darth Vader in black with his red light saber, on a grey concrete wall of the Meyers Parking building

Fishers Lane, Fitzroy

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Mary C

Photos taken of the graffiti and street art in Fishers Lane back in February.

below: Welcome to Bali, vol II by BMD, being drawn with a pencil, and it comes complete with a pink earthworm crawling through the mural and the building.

muralby BMD on the upper level of a red brick building. Cigarette box shaped box, front is green with a picture of an little island with one little palm tree and a large earthworm coming out of the sand. a large pencil is seen drawing the picture

below: Garfield gets in on the act too. He’s writing on the walls “Nothing but Trouble”

street art mural of Garfield the Cat holding a marker and writing on the wall, Nothing but Trouble

below: A mural by Drew Funk, Deb and Monkey the roller derby women.

a mural showing two women ready for roller derb

below: Part of the alley, with another mural by Drew Funk in the foreground.

view of a lane with graffiti and street art on both sides

below: Even though this paste up is fraying at the edge, it still looks interesting. The interaction of two people in blank masks.

fraying paste up (large) of two people in blank masks. One is seated. The other is reaching out to him or her, on a brick wall in an alley

below: Four square pieces of wood, each with an insect – or at least I assume that the one on the left once had an insect on it. The mosaic piece looks like something invader would make, but as far as I know he hasn’t been in Melbourne. It may also be a character from a video game?

four square pieces of wood mounted on a wall, each with a picture of an insect. Above it is a creature, walking on two legs, made of black and blue mosaic tiles

below: Paste up, a woman in profile, on the open hand of a woman – herself?

small black and white paste up of an open hand holding a round shape with a woman's head in profile in it.

below: A suited man with a bird in a birdcage instead of a head, at the rear of 285 Brunswick. It is signed javer.

paper pasteup of a black and white drawing of a man's torso with a birdcage instead of a head. One black bird in the cage. It's on a door with lots of scribbles graffiti and a sign that says 285

below: Two more javer pasteups. Another man with a replaced head as well as a misfit woman.

2 paste ups on a boarded up space on a wall. One is a person with a black t shirt with the word Misfits on it. The other is a man sitting on a stool but instead of a head he has the speaker part of an old gramophone

below: One more javer paste-up. This time it’s all about water, water falling from the sky and small puddles below. The words written on the background paper are definitions of scientific terms dealing with liquids, terms such as dew point and absolute humidity.

paste up of a black silhouette of a man holding an umbrella and walking through large rain drops.

below: A bird by Sugar, a street artist who likes to paint murals of animals.

mural of a large bird head, light grey head, blue and black beak, brown body feathers, sign by sugar, on a white wall in an alley

below: At first I thought the title of this piece is Lost the Plot, but that’s actually the moniker used by the artist who painted this.

street art in teals and magenta, with words written small in the corner 'Lost the Plot' signature seems to be NCWB

below: Unfortunately I can’t figure out who the artist is for this one.
a large text street art piece in black, white and red, on a fence,

below: He looks at the world through a different set of lenses.

graffiti and street art on a wall, some scrawls and scribbles but also one man's face, wearing glasses with red and white concentric circles instead of lenses

below: This sad looking girl was hiding in a very narrow space.

paste up of a black drawing on white, a girls head with very long hair looks over the top of a group of high rise buildings, cloud ans round sun behind her

below: A little hummingbird hovering on the wall.

a stencil in teal and black of a hummingbird hovering

below: Another view of the lane.

the backs of buildings in a lane. An old wood fence, with a tree behind it. A taller white building among some shorter buildings. sunny day, blue sky, Melbourne Australia.

below: Babushka dolls paste up

2 large paper paste ups of babushka doll shaped women. One with eyes open and smiling and the other with eyes closed.

Legacy mosaics

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Mary C

ANZAC Centenary, Legacy Street Art Project

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), Legacy plans to hold workshops that will allow the local community to interact and engage with the personal and shared histories of the Legacy Family. Workshop participants will create 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.

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.

many clay pieces, a sword,an anchor, some with words, attached to a wall, part of a Legacy project for ANZAC commemoration

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

clay pieces on a red brick wall in an alley all clustered together to form a mosaic

Eyes on the Streets

and feets on the ground. Graffiti, street art and murals seen while wandering the streets and alleys of our colourful world.

Tag Archives: tiles