Brooklyn Aint Dead is a one-night-only retrospective at Per Square Metre Gallery which is celebrates the intersection of graffiti, trains and wrecking yards Melbourne style.
As one of the presenters of this night of local history, Jo from Joske Films gives The Vine a little insight.
For people outside of Melbourne - or Melburnians who don't leave the inner-north - where is Brooklyn and what's its significance?
Jo: Brooklyn is right near Tottenham, inner west-side. Sims Metals has been around there forever recycling scrap metal. The exhibition screens a collection of footage and photographs from a period in Melbourne's history when most of the Hitachi M car fleet was either privately sold or scrapped at Sims.
So what was the the "Hitachi Wrecking Period"? And why was this significant to anyone other than railway authorities?
Jo: This was a very special time for many reasons. Train collectors had a field day and graffiti artists had a fucking ball! The few times I went there was super exciting. There's something cute about painting dead trains, and seeing them hacked in half and stacked on top of each other was totally surreal.
Where does this amazing footage and collection come from?
Jo: It's a mix from private collections, pieced together from video and photographs by myself, Spotem, Dvate, Vincent J Peters, Leon no.37, Isis and a few others, screening for one night only.
What are some of your favourite moments in the exhibition?
Jo: People painting trains. Machines destroying trains. Destroyed trains with graffiti on them.
How "Melbourne" is this?
Jo: 100% Melbourne.
As a film maker - what's your motivation and journey been like?
Jo: For this particular project it's been exciting seeing what other people have stashed away. It's been fun editing it all just to watch the overlaps and differences in their documentation. Overall as a film maker, I suppose I like to tell stories that I'm personally attached to.
Tell us about some of your other film projects, because you have your name on lots!
Jo: I have a few things coming up. Two more film nights at Per Square Metre Gallery in Feb (featuring more graffiti action.) I'm helping coordinate The Ladie Killerz event, April 23rd-25th in Adelaide, featuring an all girl; art exhibition, hip hop film night at Mercury Cinema, and a girls only graffiti jam. It's gonna be crazy! Got a couple of music videos coming up too.
BROOKLYN AIN'T DEAD
Monday 8 February 2010, from 8pm
191 Johnston Street
Collingwood VIC
photo and film credits: SPOTEM,
JOSKE and PETER J VINCENT