Before Hozier Lane had the tourist pull it does now, over 20 years ago the legendary street artist, Invader, created a Space Invaders-styled mosaic in secret location in Melbourne. Now, after saving the work from being destroyed in the Arts Centre’s 2010 renovations, the iconic piece is the standout of City Gallery’s latest exhibition, Off the Grid.
Displayed in and around Melbourne’s Town Hall, the exhibition is helping to establish the works of Invader and five other street artists from this period as legitimate in a historical context.
Looking back at the rich history of Melbourne’s street art scene, Invader's works reference both popular culture – specifically early video games – and the history of the city itself, as well as its gridded layout.
The driver for the exhibition is curator Lachlan MacDowall, who is a scholar of graffiti, street art and digital culture, and draws the comparison between Melbourne’s streets with the grids of Invaders work and early video gaming.
“Invader activated a longer history that draws together Melbourne’s colonial streetscapes and the pixelated screens of digital culture," says MacDowall. "A reminder, via art and games, of the fused histories of technological experimentation, aerial warfare and frontier violence,”
Although Invader’s disruptive presence in Melbourne’s early street art scene was possibly the best known, he wasn’t the only one creating art inspired by the city and early 2000s digital culture. Within the exhibition, audiences can also check out the works of five other artists working within this same time period.
The rest of the line-up includes Cratemen, who produced milk-crate sculptures; Renk and Carl, who covered all the outward facing windows in an abandoned building with a single tag; Goon Hug and their sticker-covered tram stops; and Sydney artist Andy Uprock who created intricate patterns with disposable plastic cups.
Stop in on your way through the city and learn a little about Melbourne’s street art roots, from now until February 15, 2023.