Crown Heights

Last night we were witness to the opening of the Crown Heights exhibition at Eleven A in Highlander Place.

The gallery upstairs at Eleven A hosted works from the current kings of graffiti in Melbourne. Works featured were from contemporary crews KSA, MR, F1 and MSA (among the lesser-known). Artists themselves included Aeon, Renks, Greco, Tres, Break, Lush, Banos, and more. Although there was at least a dozen pieces that were brilliant; unfortunately most of the gear left a lot to be desired. Albeit creative and varied in form, the disappointment stemmed from the percieved lack of attention to detail (seeing brush-strokes from marker pen can piss you off a bit). I must re-iterate that this was confined to the lesser works; the smaller and apparently more affordable shit on show. Many of these were simply black book pieces; the kind of stuff you’d expect to form a guide to a brilliant piece assembled on one of the lines.

In all, it was an interesting night. The stand-out pieces were somewhat complemented by the tedious. A varied range is always palatable although I must admit that we expected more from the big names around town (and abroad). Another downer was a Kylie Minogue remix pumped on the loudspeakers, while a dj booth in the gallery proper was left idle. If only a bit more care was taken in the execution of the lesser works and some pride in the arrangement of the venue; notably in price lists and said lack of kickin’ tunes; then we would’ve not only stayed longer but also left in a positive state of mind. At the end of the day, though -who am I to judge? The exhibits are up until May 20th so can do so yourself...

-Rock the Boat