Vexta
Encyclopedia
Vexta is a prominent Melbourne
street artist
. She is especially notable because she is a female operating in a male-dominated arena. Her work is mostly human portraiture. Vexta requests that her name not be published.
Vexta moved to Melbourne from Sydney
and saw many examples of Stencil art by other artists namely Dlux, Optic, Sync
, and Ha-Ha
. She was inspired by their art and has been cutting and spraying stencils since 2003.
Some of her work has been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia
, to appear in an exhibition in late 2008. She has also completed commissioned pieces and worked with a landscape design company.
art
is both artistic and socio-political. She has been documented as saying:
Her main aim in her work is to connect with the public on an emotional level:
, or Somnolent, featuring Joelistics from Tzu
.
Mediums she uses include acrylic and enamel paint on board, aluminium
and found pieces. She also posts paste-ups and stickers.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
street artist
Street artist
A street artist is someone who creates and/or sells their art or craft in public for the pleasure of passers-by.Some people use the term 'street artist' more broadly and also refer to people involved in busking, such as musicians who sing and/or play instruments, acrobats, jugglers, living statues,...
. She is especially notable because she is a female operating in a male-dominated arena. Her work is mostly human portraiture. Vexta requests that her name not be published.
Vexta moved to Melbourne from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and saw many examples of Stencil art by other artists namely Dlux, Optic, Sync
Sync (street artist)
Sync or Syn as he is sometimes called is a notable street artist operating out of Melbourne, Australia.At the start of Sync's career he was heavily into doing sticker art. He started doing stencils in 1996 in Adelaide but only to help himself mass produce stickers.In Adelaide, Sync worked for some...
, and Ha-Ha
Ha-Ha (street artist)
- Work :Ha-Ha is a stencil artist based in Melbourne, originally from Hamilton, New Zealand. Despite his occupation, Ha-Ha has never been to art school. He was inspired by a street artist known as "Psalm" at the start of his stenciling career, as well as "Rone" and "Phibs". Ha-Ha engages in...
. She was inspired by their art and has been cutting and spraying stencils since 2003.
Some of her work has been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
, to appear in an exhibition in late 2008. She has also completed commissioned pieces and worked with a landscape design company.
Motivation
Vexta's motivation for stencilStencil
A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to...
art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
is both artistic and socio-political. She has been documented as saying:
"I don't want to live in a city that's really bland and covered in grey and brown and advertising. I never said it was OK to put a billboardBillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
on the top of Brunswick StreetBrunswick StreetBrunswick Street can refer to three different locations in Australia:*Brunswick Street, Brisbane, a major thoroughfare in Brisbane, famous for the Brunswick Street Mall....
, so who's to say that I can't put up a small A4 size image in a back laneway?".
Her main aim in her work is to connect with the public on an emotional level:
"I want to find and capture what it is that makes us human, the soul of the individual that is at once personal but at the same time deeply universal.".
Techniques
Vexta has a background in screen printing. Many of Vexta's pieces are developed from photographs taken of her friends. An example of this is Diving Woman at St Kilda JunctionSt Kilda Junction
St Kilda Junction is one of the most notorious intersections in Melbourne, Australia. It is located in the suburb of St Kilda, and bordering Windsor, Melbourne and St Kilda East, and is the meeting point of the major roads Punt Road, St Kilda Road, Dandenong Road/Queens Way/Princes Highway and...
, or Somnolent, featuring Joelistics from Tzu
TZU
For the ancient chinese military strategist and author, see Sun Tzu.TZU are an Australian hip hop group, originating from Melbourne, Victoria. They are known for live shows with significant crowd involvement, at festivals such as Big Day Out, Falls Festival, MS Fest and the Meredith Music Festival,...
.
Mediums she uses include acrylic and enamel paint on board, aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
and found pieces. She also posts paste-ups and stickers.
Exhibitions
- Spray & Wipe, August 2005
- Mays Lane, September 2005
- Kidz These Days, July 2006 with Ha-Ha and Psalm
- Curvy 4 Live Collaboration, May 2007
- Urban Skins, August 2007
- Mays Lane, November 2007 with Ha-Ha and MiniGraff
- On the Wall, October 2010 with others such as Ha-Ha, BanksyBanksyBanksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter.His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique...
, and SwoonSwoonSwoon may refer to:*Fainting*"Swoon" , a 2009 song by Imogen Heap from the album Ellipse*"Swoon" , a 2010 single by The Chemical Brothers*Swoon , the second album by Silversun Pickups...
. - Space Invaders, October 2010
See also
- List of street artists
- Types of graffiti
- List of graffiti artists
- Spray paint artSpray paint artSpray paint art is an art form using spray paint, traditionally on posterboard, but can be done on any non-porous material, such as wood, metal, glass, ceramic or plastic...
Further reading
- Rash - Scratch it and it Spreads, 2005. Documentary. TV, ABC (Australia), 2006. 23 April. 14:00hrs
- Stencil Revolution Member Gallery. (Features photos of works exhibited.)