Different strokes

Travelling the streets of Marrickville this weekend you might notice something strange: laneways buzzing with creatives both bringing the Inner West to life and fighting graffiti vandalism as they breathe colour onto blank walls…

Marrickville Council’s ‘Perfect Match’ public art program culminates in a special event weekend on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th July, where artists who have been matched with local property owners will transform walls with spectacular artworks. You can meet the artists, see art unfold and join neighbourhood celebrations by taking a self-guided tour, or joining a bike tour from 10am-5pm (BYO bike and book at www.artcyclesydney.com). Free guided bus tours will also be held at11am-1pm, and 2pm-4pm daily – for bookings, maps and programs visit www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/perfectmatch.

Highlights include:

‘It’s like a jungle sometimes’ by Numskull
Well-known Sydney-based artist Numskull has been matched with 31 Trafalgar St, Petersham, where he’ll be painting a piece inspired by the lyrics of Grandmaster Flash and Furious 5 song ‘The Message’. It’s all about the struggle of the ordinary person fighting to create an artistic industry in the urban jungle, but there’s hope – the people are changing the face of the streets one wall at a time.

‘Queens Lane’ by Chez Patricia
Ciao‘s own building will be getting a much-needed makeover with Pallas Athena, as the Queen of Spades from the old French playing cards, soon to grace our back wall – a nice nod to our laneway name. The queen will soften the old hard edges of the building and bring beauty to a place that seems long forgotten.

roadtest-ciao-mural
Ciao’s mural in progress, being painted by artist Chez Patricia

‘The Settler’ by Fintan Magee
Fintan’s work (pictured) was one of the first to be completed for the program and, as the name suggests, references the colonial heritage of our timber industry. Fittingly, the work appears on Marrickville Road’s Rallis Timber yard building, one of Australia’s oldest and most significant timber mills. Fintan is making quite a name for himself both locally and beyond, with his huge scale murals being reminiscent of children’s book illustrations and yet exploring heavy themes like waste and loss.

‘Marrickville Bowlo’ by Skulk
You’ve most likely spotted Skulk’s work unknowingly on a wall somewhere around Newtown. Here he’ll be offering a playful take on the classic game of bowls, with a work that incorporates the Inner West’s plane traffic, Marrickville’s unique street culture and community. Check out his colourful piece at 91 Sydenham Rd.

‘Akkorokamui’ by Syke and Laura Ives
These two talented local artists have totally different styles but are collaborating to bring a bit of the bizarre to 43 Holmwood St, Newtown, with this work that sees a giant octopus attack the crumpling relics of a place that looks strikingly similar to the Inner West. Inspired by Japanese mythology, it’s definitely worth a look.

‘Mechanics’ by Province
Province duo, Laura Pike and Anne-Louise Dadak, bring something quite different to the program with their work, which it’s based around colour and abstract patterning rather than characters. It begins as a traditional geometric tiling motif, but slowly breaks away to reveal a new visual language for the facade at 103 Trafalgar St, Stanmore.

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