Melbourne`s mayor reported to police last weekend the paint spray attack on the city`s iconic Hosier Lane, saying it was "not in the spirit of street art lanes."
On Sunday, a video that appeared on the social platform`s Instagram showed about six people wearing masks spraying paint in multiple colours on the walls of the alley.
(Photo: Horsey Lane, Melbourne Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Mayor Lord Sally Capp said the city parliament thought the attack had taken place on Saturday night and the pebble on the ground had been damaged.
"The balance between street art and graffiti is sometimes difficult to define," she said.
"We consider this to be vandalism and intend to pursue the perpetrators of this crime. "
In a statement, Mayor Karp said the vandalism was "unacceptable and incompatible with the spirit of Hosiel Ryan."
Police have called on any witness to call the crime report line.
(Photo: Horsey Lane, Melbourne Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The alleyway is known for its street art and graffiti, spraying layers of paint over the walls over the years.
But renowned Melbourne artist Ron told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Hosier Lane was "laissez-faire," and that the paint spray attack was" an exaggeration of what has happened."
"And there`s no respect for anything," he said.
"Some artists think that Hosier Lane is rubbish, and that`s a tourist trap
"There have always been artists selling things. It`s like an expanded version of the Victorian market. "He said that while art used to stay in the alley for up to 10 years, it changed after the entire alley was painted blue as an art project.
"After that, nothing is sacred," said Ron. Nothing is important. "
(Photo: Horsey Lane, Melbourne Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Street art curator Dean posted a video of the alleyways on Instagram this morning, describing Hosier Lane as "refreshed by a group of graffiti artists."
"This is probably the best project I`ve seen there in years," he said in this Po,
Chase Joslin, the manager of the clothing store`s King of Culture who works in the alley, said the recent art creations to reflect the impact of the bushfires had been ruined, too disappointing.
"It was destroyed in just a few minutes," he said. It`s a real shame. "
Jocelyn says he doesn`t think the paint attack is art.
"I don`t think it`s a cultural act when you`re specifically running to destroy people`s artistic achievements," he said.
"No matter what? There`s no art at all. "
Mayor Capu encouraged Melbourne`s street artists to return to Hosiel Lane for new creations on painted-damaged walls from the weekend.
