New exhibition tracks Melbourne street art and the history of Invader – Beat Magazine

Cracked but intact, the tile mosaic was saved from the demolition hammer in 2018 when the Arts Centre Melbourne was undergoing major renovations. Now, 20 years after it was first installed alongside 24 others, the mosaic is being reconsidered in a wider historical context, looking at its place in the long and rich history of Melbournes street art and the recurring motif of the grid.

Invaders work references the early video game, Space Invaders (1978). To fully understand the work, consideration needs to be given to the longer history of both computing and aerial warfare, which stretches back to the 19th century, along with the history of Melbourne itself.

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Guest curator Lachlan MacDowell said Melbournes gridded streets mirror the grids of Invaders work and Tomohiro Nishikados games.

By placing his art in Melbourne, Invader activated a longer history that draws together Melbournes colonial streetscapes and the pixelated screens of digital culture a reminder, via art and games, of the fused histories of technological experimentation, aerial warfare and frontier violence, he said.

Examining street art from this period, Invader was not the only artist making work inspired by digital culture and the aesthetics of the grid. The exhibition displays photographs of five street artists from this period, which responded to the grid and the rise of digital technology.

They include:

Off The Grid: Invader and Melbourne Street Art in the early 2000s from 14 September 2022 until 15 February 2023 at the City Gallery, Melbourne Town Hall.

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New exhibition tracks Melbourne street art and the history of Invader - Beat Magazine