Until Never & Citylights
October 1, 2007
Words on billboards, road signs, buildings, windows, trams, taxis, coffee cups, on cars and even on number plates. Words for everything, "Buy Me. Try me. Eat me. Come in. Drink me. Take me home and Love me." Even the 'Blimp' surfing the Melbourne sky is plastered with words. 1 needed a word delete from my day and escaped to Hosier Lane, the home of Citylights.
Citylights is a non-profit and independent public art initiative specialising in street-based collaborative and installations works, and operates two permanent 24-hour lightbox exhibition sites in Hosier Lane and Centre Place, Melbourne. Citylights was founded in 1996 and is directed and curated by Andrew Mac.
Andrew Mac has been staging outdoor public art events since 1994, including more than 120 exhibitions and conducts educational programs for schools and organisations, variously lecturing and speaking on issues and topics such as street art, public art, stencilling, graffiti, art and politics, strategies for emerging artists and coordinates practical art programs for students involving digital arts, display technologies and aerosol arts.
Andy is the driving force behind numerous projects around Melbourne that celebrates art in public spaces which focuses on commissioning work from artists that mainstream art galleries usually tend not to display. "Street and public art takes advantage of the phenomena of serendipity, that is, people going about their day and discover artistic impressions by accident. There could be a rewarding surprise around the next corner," Andy said.
Whilst touring along the artistic walls of Hosier Lane's supportive community of a Health Centre, Spanish restaurant, public bar, residential properties and the Forum Theatre, I told Andy about my need to escape from the city's word count which led me to Hosier Lane just across from federation Square on Flinders Street. Andy understood my plight and explained, "Citylights aims to counteract the plethora of public advertising with independent art, whilst utilising a presentation medium that taps into the innate understanding of the language of advertising." That made complete sense.
Andy recently opened the independent Until Never Gallery, located in the heart of Hosier Lane, which represents art of the streets and fine Australian and international art, with new exhibitions every four weeks. "The Gallery is bent on presenting hot art from underground and overground, Australian and international artists. Until Never shows unrepresented, street, experimental, conceptual and political art. Hosier Lane is an explosion of street art.", Andy Says.
Melbourne City Living 2007