Through the Rabbit Hole: An American Arts Writer in Melbourne

Ghostpatrol (insty: @ghostpatrol) is known for his listless and fantastical line drawings, murals, and deceivingly faux-simplistic style that portray subjects which are anything but simple. Starting as a street artist in Melbourne, a city that takes pride in and even encourages this art form much more so than in the States, he grew his artistic passion into a multi-faceted career with projects ranging from murals, to prints, to animation, to tattoo commissions and so on. He imbues his humble drawings with a deeper aura which gives the sense of a heavy narrative and storyline that inspire me to think more deeply and feel more imaginatively. Two of his upcoming longer-term projects include animating a dream sequence for a feature film and painting a second wind turbine.

Lucas Grogan (insty: @xlucasgrogan) embroiders, sews, draws, and paints to create monochromatic works that call to mind Greek vessel and vase design elements (partially because of his most signature blue and white combinations, but also because of his Greek-like chastising, hovering, god-like figures). These schematics are immediately contrasted by Grogan’s pithy and cheeky textual slogans. Simply put, his work is flawlessly funny. I’d often scroll through his work with a quiet sly grin, cheeky glimmer in my eye, and/or an absurdly loud chuckle. Grogan’s upcoming years are packed with solo shows: in July 2014, he will have his first solo show at Martin Browne Contemporary in Sydney, followed by another at Hugo Michell Gallery in Adelaide in November. And in 2015, he has a solo at Cat Street Gallery in Hong Kong.