Author: Brisbane Street Art Festival

Hollie C. is a Brisbane based artist and educator. She creates large-scale aerosol murals as well as studio works using a variety of media, such as print making, collage and acrylics. Hollie often draws inspiration from her travels, issues surrounding gender, and graffiti culture. Her works are often inspired by traditional graffiti lettering, as well as contemporary depictions of the still life, utilising fruit, flowers and other objects
in her imagery.

Australian based artist Gus possesses a diverse skill set, spanning many creative areas and media. Exploring figuration through studio work and contemporary mural painting, Gus blends methods to produce a vast array of work, from small compositions to expansive murals. Gus is particularly interested in the diversity and intrigue of people. By focusing on developing relatable concepts, Gus continually challenges audiences’ perceptions of themselves. Over the years, Gus has exhibited nationwide and abroad, receiving accolades in the form of art awards and steadily producing commissioned works for private clients and corporations. Gus continues to work hard, aiming to go far beyond preconceived creative boundaries.

Born and raised in the Basque Country (Spain), a place he proclaims to be the inspiration for his desire to paint from a very young age. With an appreciation for street art developed from the many walls that decorate his neighborhood Sortwo has grown up with the passion for public art, sharing his craft like many street artists on any surface that begs for colour and life. He works with a variety of creative mediums, never limiting his imagination to just one style or technique. Sortwo’s surreal illustrations make us question our ordinary everyday lives, tripping into a landscape of wonderment. His primary medium is aerosol and acrylic.

Sam is a 21-year-old artist from Brisbane, Australia and can’t really remember the last time he wasn’t creating something, or had a vision to pull ideas from his head and put them onto paper/walls. His work isinfluenced by his daily intake of the internet, the people that surround him, his past, the future and everything in between Through his work. Sam strives to fabricate something that can be seen by the viewer on numerous occasions and enjoyed in alternative ways on each visit. He believes that through the use of new technology he will be able to achieve this.

MIMI is one half of iconic Brisbane duo Frank & Mimi. Emily Devers is an accomplished multidisciplinary fine artist who develops unique and timeless concepts through her public work, with a dual focus on community engagement and global conversation. Living sustainably through her creative practices, she creates high impact art with low impact materials, generating space in her artworks for pertinent discussions around the future of our planet.

Ruskidd has been displaying his psychedelic works on Melbourne’s walls for around seven years, carving out a unique style with a heavy emphasis on flowing line work. His visuals are playful and constantly shoot references to palettes and patterns found in nature while exploring the relationship between colour and line.
His works have been seen covering the sides of warehouses and on display at the National Gallery of Victoria. Currently, Ruskidd is in residency at Blender studios where he has been expanding his practice experimenting with light and projection.

Marsh’s work explores the growing crossover between graffiti and high art, popular culture and the cult of the celebrity. Marsh pairs traditional motifs, elements of impressionism and pop with the pallet, scale & techniques associated with graffiti.
Spending his formative years exploring and painting throughout Sydney’s rail network, Marsh says “much of what I employ in terms of pallet, scale and the manner in which I paint comes from my background in graffiti”. The language of Graffiti is deeply personal to Marsh and the foundation of his style and practice. He finds graffiti to be as prolific as advertising, democratic, unsanctioned and accessible to all.

One of Australia’s fast emerging contemporary artists, Shmick Is a freelance artist from Northern NSW, specialising in large-scale murals, illustration, visual art instillations and digital design. He has participated in numerous exhibitions and his work has begun to be recognized internationally. Following years of perfecting his craft, Shmick’s painting is a form of meditation. He channels great thought and creative energy into each piece, showing people something they may have never seen before.

Hailing from Brisbane, Sofles jokes that his tag sounds like a box of tissues or something from a Hallmark card. He began painting graffiti in 2000 and soon wanted to get better as fast as he could. He began experimenting with 3Ds, however a more traditional style was developed and then improved upon. He quickly became known around the globe as an artist putting in both quantity and quality. As he mastered his craft, Sofles gained the reputation of “Special Effects Wizard”, a reference to his uncanny ability to take any style to the next level.

The Zookeeper (ZKPR) is a Brisbane-based artist whose large scale murals aim to break the mundane and monotonous routines of daily life. Fascinated by nature from a young age, ZKPR is interested in the infinite parallels between all animals and human beings. Every creature big or small has a story to tell; ZKPR’s work is about creating a vessel through nature, to bring positivity to our everyday lives. ZKPR’s work aims to connect society to the things that are so easily overlooked. Fundamentally his work is about pushing past the barriers that keep our cultures and societies disconnected. Avoid monotony, Keep it Zoo.