Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. BANKSY in Borodyanka, Ukraine 2. The Wanderers – Dabs & Myla. A Film by Selina Miles 3. The Wanderers – Elliott Routledge. A Film by Selina Miles
BSA Special Feature: BANKSY in Borodyanka, Ukraine
Banky installations by this point can feel quite staged, right down to the manner of their unveiling. Here in the Ukraine where his recent works have been presented, the unstaged and personal qualities of this short video brings a devastating rawness to the art/activism event. Without pontificating, the near-tears Ukranian, the self-grooming cat, the quietness of people snapping photos – all tell us so much about this moment.
BANKSY in Borodyanka, Ukraine
The Wanderers – DabsMyla. A film by Selina Miles
The Australian-originated Los Angeles-based duo, DabsMyla, returns down under to paint a mural in the heart of Surry Hills, Sydney. In this episode of Selina Miles’ The Wanderers, we see the duo paint a 20-meter-tall mural as an homage to one of their earliest artistic inspirations, Brett Whiteley.”
Elliott Routledge, The Wanderers
“Abstract Artist, Elliott Routledge, journeys to a remote Aboriginal community in the Tiwi Islands. We follow Elliott as he paints a series of artworks, and learns about the artistic history, cultural practices, and techniques of local indigenous artists.” The Wanderers
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. The Wanderers – Rone. A Film by Selina Miles 2. The Wanderers – Georgia Hill. A Film by Selina Miles 3. The Wanderers – Amok Island. A Film by Selina Miles 4. Barkaa – Blak Matriarchy
BSA Special Feature: The Wanderers -Rone, by Selina Miles
This edition of BSA Film Friday is dedicated to The Wanderers, a brilliantly human film documentary series by filmmaker Selina Miles. Today we share with you three of the six films. We published one of the films last week here – the film dedicated to Guido Van Helten. In next week’s edition of BSA Film Friday we’ll bring you the two remaining films.
“Directed by Selina Miles & Produced by Drew Macdonald This 6 x 10-minute documentary series explores Art as Adventure. The Wanderers profile six of Australia’s most exciting street artists as they take their work on the road to unexpected and unusual parts of Australia – discovering the influence of a new environment on their individual artistic styles.
From the Central Highlands of Tasmania to a farming town in regional NSW, a remote community in the Northern Territory to the islands in the Pacific, The Wanderers celebrates the amazing diversity of people and places found in Australia.
Along with a huge range of locations, each of the 6 artists featured in The Wanderers takes on a unique personal challenge. Whether reflecting on inspiration, learning more about Australian art history, or celebrating communities that often go unnoticed. This is a series about the discovery of self; of new cultures and places; and of Australia’s next generation of contemporary artists.”
The Wanderers – Rone
“Melbourne Artist, Rone, travels to Port Vila, Vanuatu to update a cyclone-damaged wall painted several years earlier. He creates a series of portraits of local women, hoping to use his skills to form relationships with people from each neighborhood.”
The Wanderers – Amok Island
“Amok Island journeys to the Heron Island Research facility on the Great Barrier Reef, learning about the ecology of the area and seeking inspiration via underwater photography, before painting a mural at a nearby abandoned marine park.” The Wanderers
The Wanderers – Georgia Hill.
“Georgia Hill brings her monochromatic lettering and pattern work to the isolated central highlands of Tasmania, where she explores the history and remoteness of the area before painting a 10-meter mural in the historic Hydro town of Tarraleah.” The Wanderers
Barkaa – Blak Matriarchy
A powerful message and a dope track from Barkaa.
“Blak Matriarchy is a testament to Blak women… That through all the pain and trauma we carry we cannot be broken and we are still here! It’s a middle finger to all the people who discriminated against me and who were racist towards me growing up, a testimony to the strength I hold within myself and the power I feel as a Malyangapa, Barkindji woman.”
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. The Wanderers – Guido van Helten. A Film by Selina Miles 2. Leon Keer. “Misfit” 3. Duality: A graffiti story. Trailer
BSA Special Feature: The Wanderers – Guido van Helten. A Film by Selina Miles
We focus today on one episode of a brilliantly human street art-related video-short series on artists called The Wanderers, directed by Selina Miles. Today we follow the muralist/portraitist/photographer Guido Van Helten as he travels to a small town in Australia to pursue stories, personalities, and a 10-car project on the train. Train writing, indeed!
“I am very interested in portraiture in a documentary style,” he says as you watch him almost tentatively introduce himself to new people. “I was a painter first, and now through this style of working, I’ve become very interested in meeting people and photography. Now I’m pushing myself to involve that in the process.”
A young veteran of storytelling, Miles allows the details of the scene to illustrate unique aspects of life and the people here. Without gawking, the subjects and their environments, and their body language are observed with the same respectful eye that the artist has as well. Each person responds differently, each brave to allow the film camera to capture them while Van Helton establishes a rapport. Ironically, he’s not comfortable with the process himself. “Sometimes this is challenging for me to introduce myself to people.”
These hand paintings of his subject’s eyes on the cars of a train may remind you of the photography of JR plastered across surfaces everywhere with a sense of spectacle – but these take such adept technical skill rendered with a unique warmth that it wouldn’t be fair to compare. Van Helten doesn’t even seem sure what his agenda is, aside from connecting in a human way to another.
Each chapter of this short film illustrates the connections, and you are rewarded with sumptuous sweeping views of the final results as well as the disarming pleasure the artist takes from it. “I enjoyed the idea of not knowing what reaction it could have with the people who see it,” he says of the project. “No one has any idea what this is going to do in the town. Maybe nothing, maybe something. Maybe someone will go home and say, ‘You know what I saw today! – Something really strange on the side of a train.’ I think that is exciting.”
The Wanderers – Guido van Helten. A Film by Selina Miles
Leon Keer. “Misfit”
Anamorphic street artist Leon Keer does a special project here at Château du Taureau in Baie de Morlaix France. His 3D floor painting ‘MISFIT’, is a reference to the previous use of this compound as a prison for the aristocracy – or at least certain members of their families who might cast them into dishonor.
“Under the Ancien Régime, most of the prisoners at the Château were Breton aristocrats,” says Leon’s description of the previous residents, “which were put in prison at the request of their own families, anxious to avoid dishonor. Libertinism, misalliance, madness, and an immoderate taste for alcohol or gambling could certainly lead to a forced stay at the Château during those days.”
Duality: A graffiti story. Trailer
A new film striking at the heart of the graffiti practice – the fact that many writers have a ‘straight’ life that doesn’t exactly run parallel to their night-time illegal escapades can in hand.
Director by Ryan Dowling, the stories of many are illustrated by the testimony of a small handful of writers who clearly elucidate the complexities of a form of expression that runs the gamut between criminalized and celebrated. Featuring a cast of DUAL, SLOKE ONE, JABER, MERES ONES, and NEVER – the stories vary, but the narratives return to foundational truths even as the scene evolves. Well produced and executed, Duality will join the list of ‘must-see’ documentaries about graffiti, street art, and everything in between.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
