Wonderwalls Port Adelaide
29-31 March 2019

There is a rare serenity in SatOne art. He is an artist from Germany who is inspired by much more than just his immediate surroundings, following the many travels he had undertaken so far. Abstract in nature, his art is, in fact, an expression of sensitivity present in objects, but which can be ‘seen’ only on an instinctive level. The colorful sensuality of his works, continues the artist’s narration of exquisiteness hiding from direct observation, being sensed only through reflection.

SatOne is an artistic name of Rafael Gerlach, who was born in 1977 in Venezuela. Since 1979, he has been living in Munich, and these early travels seemed to announce that travels will be an important part of his life. One of the trips he has undertaken in the early 1990s brought graffiti to his attention. While traveling to the inner-city of Munich, he noticed sprayed walls which enticed him to join the local urban art scene as SatOne. Trained as a graphic designer, he often traveled to far-off destinations in search for inspiration.

His art is not disruptive of its surroundings, as many street expressions are, but is instead integral to them. His studio works, however, allow a greater degree of experimentation, both in style and techniques he deploys. From 2000 on, he developed a distinct abstract style, which starts with figuration and objects, but the color fields that develop from it overcome any references to the living world.

>Substituting Language with Sensations

SatOne’s works from streets when compared to the ones from his studio contain certain stylistic distinctions, mostly boiling down to an inability to use studio techniques in the exterior. However, his style, in general, covers the same topics, dealing with impressionistic renderings of our reality. Objects on his artworks are present, but not in forms we are familiar with. They exist as impressions, as fields of color that invite interpretations based on sentimental value and sensations. The atmosphere is guiding the viewers to enjoy the essence of objects, rather than their realistic depiction.

Subconscious mind and resonances it can pick up, seem to be of primary interest for SatOne, who distances himself from the privilege of interpretation – he opens a broader specter of possible meanings, leaving the viewers to sense the one most pertinent to them.

Abstraction in art has moved through different experimental periods over the years, all covered with distinct and often complementary theoretical explanations. Color Filed Painting, Abstract Expressionism, or Action Painting, all stirred art in novel directions, used now as guiding posts for newer generations of creatives. Street artists, in the likes of SatOne, who move from walls to studios, further the experimental potential of this style, and bring it closer to contemporary sensibilities and also younger generations of street art audiences.

In my pictorial, sculptural and mural compositions, my geometrical shapes act as they interact with the surrounding environment. In particular, when painting on walls, my aim is always  to create a dialogue with the structural and cultural parameters of the surrounding context, either architectural or not.

Initially, my works only realized the sculptural quality of individual letters, namely the ones that spelled out my own moniker, Peeta. Progressively, the fusion between traditional lettering and three dimensional style has given life to a unique kind of visual rhythm. Today, through my anamorphic works I redesign the volumes of any kind of surface involved, thus causing with my paintings a “temporary interruption of normality” by altering the perception of familiar contexts and so raising a different understanding of spaces and, consequently, of reality on a whole.

Metaphorically, I want to neutralize preconceptions and urge the emergence of new perspectives. Anamorphism totally embodies the intent, always pivotal in my production, to reveal the deceptiveness of human perception, the fallacy of narrow and fixed points of view through visual tricks which, proceeding from the attempt to confer a three-dimensional semblance on a pictorial representation, ultimately reveal their will to deceive.

Due to my turn towards anamorphic painting, I choose to transform also my traditional shapes in order to let them interplay with standard modules of architectonic structures, often changing them from irregular and smooth to geometrical solids.

Constantly running in parallel with my mural and painting activity, the role of sculpture comes to be essential for my overall production as it represents for me a direct contact with three-dimensionality in order to understand the rules of light and shadows and to reproduce them.

Peeta, also known as Manuel Di Rita, is a graffiti artist since 1993 currently living in Venice. He is a member of the EAD crew (Padova, Italy), FX and RWK crews (New York City) and has participated, over the years, in jams, festivals and art shows all over the world. His work explores the potential of sculptural lettering and anamorphism, both in painting and in sculpture.

Bebeto Ochieng, better known as Thufu-B is a master of lines. Graffiti circles have fondly dubbed him the “Lines man”.

Thufu-B is one of the founding members of BSQ crew, a street art group based in Kenya’s Capital, Nairobi.
He is a mentee of re-known artists; Patrick Mukabi & Uhuru Brown and has closely worked with the two.

His work focuses mainly on African females. Notably, portraits with African patterns on the background finnishing with lines that create faces. These portraits mostly focus on traditional African Cultures. Also, he has a special bias for BBW which is Big Beautiful Women, given his fascination for the African Woman’s features. As he puts it:

“Female poses are more fluid, more loving. They inspire the best out of my creativity”

Thufu-B has participated in community based projects such as Nai Ni Who  where he painted two primary schools murals named Muthangari Primary School and Huruma primary School.

Kenya National Theatre where he started his graffiti journey through his mentor Uhuru B in one of his graffiti workshops.

Manjano Exhibition,

International School of Kenya yearly show,

The KICC Culture Show,

the Go-Down Center,

Karen Golf Course,

Kuona Trust Art Center.

Kenya Art Fair

Alliance Francaise – street diaries show

The National Museum of Kenya – heritage European week Graffiti mural. Nextgen show by BSQ Crew, Urembo Exhibition under TICAH

A two months residency programs at Kuona Trust followed by a show at the end of the residency.

Solo shows at Que Pasa Bar n Bistro for a month

Solo show at the Creative’s Garage for a month

Memorial Graffiti in Garissa, Kenya on the collage wall. this was for the fallen 147 students who were gunned down by terrorists who attacked them at night while studying and praying.

In 2016, he took part in a Europe Aid Graffiti Event organized by the European Union and held in Belgium. Here he and Kaymist painted a graffiti installation currently hanging at the entrance of the European Union Head Office at the reception.

Sanaa Festival in Adelaide, Australia in 2019 – graffiti in the hawk center and the Multicultural Communities of South Australia wall.

Worked with one legendary Graffiti artist in Kenya, Smokillah in Turkana, Kenya. where they displayed graffiti in an environmental organization known as Friends of Lake Turkana. (F.O.L.T)

Ultimately, he hopes to showcase his work to the world. His dreams stretch wide and vast.

Working & travelling extensively throughout Aotearoa (New Zealand) & around the globe we create visual stories that connect us to the whenua (land), korero (stories) & to the tangata whenua (local people) we encounter along the way.  Our creative practise is the outworking of our passion for our Māori heritage presenting it in an urban context that features modern interpretations of cultural design along with native/endemic birdlife.

Charles is a founding member & president of the world championship winning crew TMD (The Most Dedicated), a collective of creatives from around the world who continue to push artistic boundaries & who have been global leaders in the urban contemporary art field over the past 20 years. His personal accolades include winning the world Ono’u Graffiti Festival Tahiti 2015, one of only three New Zealand artists to be fully sponsored by Ironlak spray paint travelling the world painting as a family team member including a Guinness Book of Records project producing the worlds longest graffiti scroll achievement in Dubai, 2014.

Janine is one of Aotearoas first female urban artists & also a member of TMD & has spent the past 15 years developing community art activations & more recently corporate engagement projects. Recent works include mana whenua endorsed works in the Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) region including commercial development projects working within the Wynyard Quarter Precinct.  Together they were invited to attend the Festival of Pacific Arts Guåhån 2016 as members of the Aotearoa delegation as the first large scale mural artists ever to attend & have worked on numerous creative festivals including the Auckland Arts Festival, Artweek Auckland, Matariki Festival, Tāmaki Herenga Waka Festival, Pasifika Festival & the inaugral Ono’u Graffiti Festival held in Tahiti, Ra’iātea, Moorea & Bora Bora.

Married with 4 children, whanau (family) & hapori (community) are an integral & important part of our full time artistic journey.  We believe that a work of art is not only about the finished product but includes the relationships you build along the way with the people & communities you encounter.

Working & travelling extensively throughout Aotearoa (New Zealand) & around the globe we create visual stories that connect us to the whenua (land), korero (stories) & to the tangata whenua (local people) we encounter along the way.  Our creative practise is the outworking of our passion for our Māori heritage presenting it in an urban context that features modern interpretations of cultural design along with native/endemic birdlife.

Charles is a founding member & president of the world championship winning crew TMD (The Most Dedicated), a collective of creatives from around the world who continue to push artistic boundaries & who have been global leaders in the urban contemporary art field over the past 20 years. His personal accolades include winning the world Ono’u Graffiti Festival Tahiti 2015, one of only three New Zealand artists to be fully sponsored by Ironlak spray paint travelling the world painting as a family team member including a Guinness Book of Records project producing the worlds longest graffiti scroll achievement in Dubai, 2014.

Janine is one of Aotearoas first female urban artists & also a member of TMD & has spent the past 15 years developing community art activations & more recently corporate engagement projects. Recent works include mana whenua endorsed works in the Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) region including commercial development projects working within the Wynyard Quarter Precinct.  Together they were invited to attend the Festival of Pacific Arts Guåhån 2016 as members of the Aotearoa delegation as the first large scale mural artists ever to attend & have worked on numerous creative festivals including the Auckland Arts Festival, Artweek Auckland, Matariki Festival, Tāmaki Herenga Waka Festival, Pasifika Festival & the inaugral Ono’u Graffiti Festival held in Tahiti, Ra’iātea, Moorea & Bora Bora.

Married with 4 children, whanau (family) & hapori (community) are an integral & important part of our full time artistic journey.  We believe that a work of art is not only about the finished product but includes the relationships you build along the way with the people & communities you encounter.

Contemporary artist born in Moscow in 1986. Since 1997 he has been inspired by graffiti culture. Working with graphics and oil, classical graffiti forms and abstract painting. His works can be found on city streets, urban-art festivals and large events like the Venice biennale 2018.

For the last 5 years Akue’s work has been concentrating in the studio searching for a way to combine graffiti forms with joy from abstract painting. Heavily influence of Buddhist philosophy.

His main topics are exploring the development of human beings inner qualities through a process of uniting, meditation, astrology and other sciences.

Street-writing since the early eighties, KAB101 has developed a marking style reflective of his personality. His work is based on calligraphic signature markings and mechanical type styles. His studio paintings consist of these same styles.

They tell stories of identity, his emotions and experiences related to his past and present affinity with writing his name and taking space.

Utilizing spray paint, inks, markers and brushes he constantly finds himself exploring new mediums to produce works connected to the written word.

Scott Rathman is an Aboriginal Artist who was born in Loxton in South Australia although his origins go back to his Grandmothers Country of the Arltunga region of the East MacDonnell ranges and the Arrernte people of Central Australia.

The rich colour and design in Scott’s art is seen by him as a tribute to his Grandmother who was an amazing strong woman and role model despite her being taken from her family as a child.

His curiosity to explore and understand his cultural background is the passion that drives and inspires him to look at new ways to combine the traditions of his heritage with designs of the present day.

Scott works with acrylics and Aerosol in 2D on both canvas and large scale mural work.

He works in the community, organisations and schools on projects related to culture and developing the capacity of non-Aboriginal people in the community to expand their cultural learning.

He has been painting his Contemporary Aboriginal Artworks since 1989 and his works are held by individual collectors who are drawn to the unique design that represent the past, present and future through contemporary creative design and expression.

Sarah Boese is an illustrator, graphic designer and mural artist based in Adelaide, SA.

She studied at the University of South Australia and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor Degree in Visual Communication.

Murals, character design and illustrated children’s literature are the focus of her creative practice.

10TKL’s Art is fun and far reaching. His work can be found on streets all over the world. Versatile

Artist producing unique art with hand-made vinyl stickers, street posters & large scale murals.

Tenty’s works have been featured in galleries in New York, Miami, Germany & Singapore.

Dave Court is an Adelaide based multi-disciplinary artist working in areas of painting design and installation.

Current work includes large scale mural painting, event activation, venue design and creation of immersive installations.

After graduating with Visual Arts honours specialising in painting in 2013, Dave was involved with award winning immersive art project Mr IST. Other major projects include running ethical clothing brand foolsandtrolls, retail store / art space Created Range and working as creative director of Yewth Magazine, as well as ongoing freelance work and art practice.

Dave’s practice is based around painting, and has expanded to include experimental aspects of photography, video, performance, installation and collaboration.

Jake Holmes is an Adelaide based visual artist with a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design. He works across a variety of mediums including; screen printing, mural painting, illustration, audio and collage.

Holmes’s mural work focuses on sight specific pieces that take inspiration from the surrounding landscapes and communities with colourful works that feature both figurative and abstract elements.

In 2011 Holmes co-founded Tooth and Nail Studio Gallery, an art studio that over the last 6 years has had over 100 tenants, a gallery that has shown local, interstate and international artists and a printmaking supplies shop.

Holmes has work in several major collections including; The Art Gallery of South Australia, The Mornington Peninsula regional gallery and the Flinders University Collections.

Joshua Searson is a visual artist practising in a variety of mediums based in Adelaide, South Australia. Taking a strong interest in colour, typography and a mixture of the old and new, he has painted walls for various councils in the Adelaide city and surrounding areas, as well as private clients. Josh is a founding member of Print Cult collective, a group of 7 contemporary printmakers from Adelaide, as well as an original studio artist at Tooth and Nail Studios, from their beginning in 2011, through to 2016. Josh’s work has is regularly featured in exhibitions in Adelaide at galleries such as Light Square Gallery and West Gallery Thebarton. Josh currently lectures in printmaking, digital media and art practice at Adelaide College of the Arts. Career highlights from the last three years include speaking at the Australian Print Triennial 2018, participating in a printmaking and paper-making residency in Fabriano (Italy) with Vicarious Press and undertaking the Francis Street artist-in-residence program for Adelaide City Libraries.