Brisbane-below ground

After a conversation at Cold Crush we found out there's only one legal graffiti wall in Brisbane. A tough ask in a city that wants paint and people don't appreciate it. Down in the secluded corners of  the drain in Brisbane a couple of young writers paint in safety "its not worth the risk painting the streets." Brisbane's taken a hard-line stance on graffiti. Where the art flourishes in the laneways of Melbourne and even Hobart, Brisbane's culture is different. Freeways are rarely painted, here graffiti is replaced by bland landscape murals that sit as street art defence mechanism. But go below ground and with space time and imagination artwork flourishes. Nearby the legal wall another drain, painted wall to wall top to bottom. Piecing in peace, few people venture this far making it a safer place. Back at the legal wall a council worker pulls up armed with a tablet for a database and roller to buff paint that latest tag. That's the no tolerance approach to the surrounding walls in a city that tries to keep a lid on it despite it bursting at the seams.