Hoppers Crossing

Werribee Train line, Western Melbourne. Fresh, clean and dripping with style. Writers getting up painting walls in a landscape dominated by grasslands and urban development. The land out here has been dramatically altered Post European settlement. Cattle and sheep have destroyed these areas which were grazed first because of the lack of tree clearing needed. You would of once heard mobs of Kangaroos hopping through the landscape now replaced by road noise. Graffiti is an important part of regenerating the poorly thought architecture of the Werribee Line. Unnecessarily gigantic railway stations projecting the notion "we are humans look what we can do" kind of bullshit engineering statement. There's almost zero sense of community, here "the build it and they will come" mentality lost through the unattractive nature of the stations. The graffiti community thrives while the surrounding community struggles to survive.  

CKA crew

The trackside walls along the Werribee train line are culturally rich in graffiti. Big name artists come to paint the back walls of industrial buildings. This first piece is particularly unique with the use of a free style approach colour outside the lines approach. The 2nd piece shows a change to a public style directly related to its prime track-side position. 

                                                       City Krims Again, City Krime Art

Iron Or(e)?

Australia is the worlds largest exporter of iron ore. China is the largest importer using the material to make products like steel for growing cities. China has been stockpiling Iron Ore and developing urban areas. They have reduced the amount of Iron Ore they need and the price per a tonne has more than halved. The estimated value of iron ore exports for 2015 year is a whopping 90 million dollars. 

This absolute classic piece of graffiti displays our dig it up mentality. Nothings sacred when it comes to generating wealth. Even if mining uluru seems extreme, aboriginal sacred sites are continually threatened by mining in areas like the Pilbara. The Labor party introduced a mining tax so the wealth generated from mining could be spread more evenly amongst its citizens. In 2010 in Perth  mining fuckwit Gina Rineheart addressed  the rich minority the 1,200 crowd, standing on the back of a truck demonstrating her poor level of intellectual intelligence by shouting "AXE THE TAX". The Abbott government terminated the mining tax because it was bad for business. The mining industry is protected species in Australia endorsed by the Liberal Party 

Source-http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/90-billion-the-downgraded-value-of-forecast-iron-o

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-03/fact-check-australia-share-iron-ore/6483632

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/ancient-aboriginal-sites-at-risk-in-the-pilbara/story-e6frg6z6-1227069546753

Graffiti in the Grasslands

Western Melbourne is distinctively different to the East. Prior to European settlement it would have been a spectacular, vast, native grassland with an array of wildflowers during spring. Grasslands since settlement have rapidly deteriorated largely due to agriculture and more recently housing development. Less than 1% of the original grasslands in Victoria remain. The remaining 1% left is critically important as a representation of this natural landscape. 

  What has graffiti got to do with grasslands? Both are outdoors and both occur in the environment. The surrounding environment whether it is built or natural has direct link to the culture of the local graffiti. The Werribee train line is defined by its long distant views of wide open fields. This gives you, a feeling of empty space. Graffiti artists have come along and filled that space, in this case, many industry walls facing the train line. Line-of sight is a major factor in determining where's the best place for graffiti. Directly visible walls from the train are the most valuable and often seized first by the veteran artists