Private Graffiti

Graffiti is part of Melbourne culture just like trams or sport. Graffiti is spread throughout Melbourne. The epicenter of the scene is in the Inner-Northern Suburbs of Fitzroy, Collingwood, Brunswick and Clifton Hill. These suburbs have embraced urban art. They haven't fully accepted graffiti in its entirety. However its more recognized, and noticed than any other suburb. The photo shows the transition of graffiti from public spaces into private yards.

Clifton Hill

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/dreambuild/episodes/ep15_s2.htm

A short documentary on how graffiti was incorporated with architecture in Fitzroy

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Generally the further you travel away from the city center the graffiti becomes more basic and less skilled. However its not always the case, and graffiti does turn up in seemingly unlikely places. Patterson Lakes is an artificial suburb of Melbourne and was developed in the 1970's as an area for people to store their boats in their very own protected, private marina. The area before that used to be part of the Carrum Carrum swamp; a large wetlands. Since then the wetlands have been drained, the area was farmed. So the local ecology has been hammered by the European arrival.

 

  Patterson Lakes is an affluent area with median house price of $655,000 and a high percentage of retirees. So it doesn't have the traditional, stereotypical  low-income, poor population that most people would associate with graffiti. This influencing factors makes it a unique addition to the Melbourne Graffiti portfolio.

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It may come as a surprise but graffiti does have boundaries. Many writers have places where they'd never paint. This could be private property, graves, cars etc. Some people however have no code of conduct at all. If that's your style then rock it, but learn to deal with the consequences. The artist/s in question of painting a space which is "socially not acceptable" receive some negative energy from the community, but are often most strongly condemned by the graffiti community as a whole.  

Some artists paint for quantity others paint for quality and some paint with elements of both. This photo however shows a very limited understanding of graffiti culture. Why repetitively tag the one space especially when your tag is simple and basic.