Arty Graffarti

Wow, Friday night in Melbourne, two shows, both fantastic, I’ve saved the best ’til last and trust me these are two very contrasting shows. Previous to this show, I’d never heard of Daek Williams, but I do trust Rtist as  everything they’ve done so far has been of top notch. So I went into this not knowing what to expect, what did I get? A show which simply just blew me away, a show in which I plan on returning for a second viewing, a show which has somewhat changed my thoughts on the words “graffiti artist”. I really don’t like to rate things from best to worst, but this show could be my favourite from Rtist for the year and one I can’t recommend you enough to go see as soon as possible.

As you may have already read, I really dig this show and trust me, thats saying something, after the shenanigans that went down at the Lush show [which you'll see in my next post], this was from a night that had already exceeded my expectations. Splashed with colour and a unique photorealistic style, Daek One has produced a show which should appeal to both graffiti and street art fans alike, in my opinion, a perfect mould of the two worlds. Each piece is based around the cranium of people and characters obviously influential in the artists work, these heads are covered in some beautifully designed masks. The masks are clearly of a graffiti lettering influence, they’re sharp, bold and bursting from the seams with personality stemming from its wearer.

With only a few canvas’, this show was mainly presented on fabric which was bolted to the walls though wood, a welcome change to the standard canvas’ and prints that don most shows. Without the constraints on canvas’ most of the works stretched further then its desired path for your eyes, paint was splashed outside of the designated areas and even gallery stalker interaction is encouraged. A sand pit and hidden compartments were spread out around the gallery for on lookers to find hidden prizes, again, a great use of the space passed the 4 x 4 walls. A fantastic visual look into the future, Daek Williams seems to be highly influenced by science fiction films, in particular, Ghost In The Shell, as you can see above the masks fit perfectly into the mix of graffiti and street art he is presenting. I can only describe these characters as warriors, strong, graceful and completely fearless, much like they way they’re presented. I am an instant fan of Daek One after this show, I feel that he is one of those rare perfect molds of a graffiti writer turned artist, a true graffiti artist.

I can’t recommend this show enough, get on down to this before it closes on the 23rd of December, you might see me there again, pick up the mini magazine if there’s still some available too, a great collection of his work.

Daek William

Rtist Gallery

Just wanna give a big thank you and congratulations to Rtist too, this is obviously their last show for the year but I can’t really fault any of them, look forward to see whats coming for 2012!