WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO? I'm ERA (ear-ra)
I feel like people are very confined and restricted now, we need more freedom, people will just be happier then.
I paint Murals, Commissioned paintings, Illustrations, Graphic Design and learning some animation also. Just looking to make a living selling art.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE IN 3-5 WORDS?
Black is my friend.
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START WITH STREET ART?
I started with Graffiti. I remember as a kid watching movies with characters that were doing tags or putting messages on public walls, like a lot of 90’s New York movies. So all I knew about it early on was from movies, so from the moment I saw it had my attention, but growing up in Warrnambool didn’t expose me to much graffiti just a lot of body-boarding.
It wasn’t until I got to Melbourne looking to study Graphic Design that I met “Nasty” and he showed me the ins and outs of the graffiti culture as he was heavily interested in it too.
But I’ve always wanted to do my own thing, I think all the different styles really make everything pop.
WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES AND STRUGGLES, STREET ARTISTS FACE COMPARED TO NON-STREET ARTISTS?
It’s not as protected, you get jail time for painting graffiti. But people pay to keep a Banksy on their Home. Painting ads as a way around billboards is concerning too, corporations are buying into the street culture now.
WHERE CAN WE SEE YOUR ART?
You might see my dog character out in the street, the council keeps painting over him though.
I’ll have a few gallery exhibitions coming up.
HOW IS THE STREET ART COMMUNITY HERE IN MELBOURNE?
People are people, there are some nice ones and then there’s plenty of dickheads too. But there’s always someone you can vibe with or connect with within art. Or just do your own thing and just vibe with the people who interact with you online or buy art like fans. It’s a pity people can’t travel right now cause that’s a huge part of enjoying yourself as an artist too.
OPINIONS ON TAGGING CULTURE?
I love a good hand style, I’ve been working on turning ERA into a cartoon face for ages. It's a great starting spot too. We wouldn’t have the art we have today without it.
ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS?
Covid-19 has messed up the timing of those though, I’m working on doing possibly two shows back to back. We’ll see how things play out, 4th lockdown now doesn’t fill you with hope though.
But I have at least 3 shows already planned, and the 3 will be in 2021 if I can help it.
WHAT IS YOUR MAIN GOAL WITH YOUR WORK?
I want to keep developing my own unique style, I would like to become more entertaining and interact with people who enjoy my art more. I love the style and really enjoy watching other artists develop their own. It’s a pretty dense culture of high calibre artists in Melbourne.
WHO OR WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
A lot of the artists here in Melbourne, The Ocean, Family, Chocolate, Cannabis & Freedom
Great read ERA 🙏