ABER – an explosive combination!

In preparation for writing this article, I visited Brunswick’s library located on Sydney Road. Unintentionally, I sat close to a bookshelf labeled with the category ‘Graphic Design’. The names of the books that I could see from where I was sitting instantly grabbed my attention. “WHERE’S B**KSY?” and “Street Art” were staring directly at me. I approached the shelf and grabbed them both plus the one titled “graffiti PARis”. 

I browsed them and found many pictures and few words. I enjoyed turning pages with images seeing grandiose projects, new ways to express ourselves, and a collaborative DIY attitude with a subversive edge. Something I didn’t find was the explosive combination that I’m about to describe. 

A passion for travel combined with a triple-barreled creativity toolkit that includes art, music, and primary school teaching skills makes Aber a very unique Melbourne-based street artist (in case you start wondering, I’m going to be completely honest with you – Aber is not his true name!). 

During his pre-COVID sojourner travels, Aber started wondering what place on earth could he call home next. He enjoyed the adventures that came with his world-nomad lifestyle but he also wanted to grow roots at a place where he could make his music, teach and learn from primary school kids, and of course, where he could explore the arts scene with his own creations!

If you also enjoy traveling, you know that Aussies are well known for being all over the place and also for being great travel companions. Well, Aber was told more than once by Australian travelers that Melbourne was the right place for him. I can’t assure you how one of those conversations went but I imagine something like Yeah, mate! Melbourne sounds like the place for that kind of shit! 

So, Melbourne became Aber’s new home. He secured a job as a teacher in a German school before arriving here. Maths, arts, natural science, and music are some of the subjects he teaches. It didn’t take too long for written theory and the whiteboard to become too small. His creativity demanded empiricism, experimentation, action! A clean, long wall in a private house not far from school became his first canvas.

Again, I can’t confirm how the “can I paint your wall?” conversation started but I imagine Aber knocking on the door and saying something like: “Hey, I’ve been looking at your wall for a while and it seems that a scene with some colourful, and curious figures might stage it up! Would you be open to give it a try, Mr. Wall Owner? I can also picture Mr. Wall Owner opening his eyes, then mysteriously looking at his wall and thinking “My wall, is he talking about my wall?” to then say: “No worries, mate! Why not?”

Aber’s characters have spread around Melbourne ever since then. When I first saw his creatures, something made me feel a very deep connection with them. I’m not entirely sure what triggered that familiarity. My guess was their typically big, curious eyes, but also the plants and nature that surround them, and most definitely the tropical colours juxtaposed against the urban setup.

But it was until I met with Aber that I was able to fully understand the explosive combination that made me feel intensely connected to his art. On this occasion, I can assure you how this conversation happened:

• In my life, it is very important to find the right balance between kindness, love, compassion, vulnerability, and trust. 
• And do you find this through your art?
• For me, it’s very important to find this balance in everything I do. I want to be able to communicate it with my students and to capture these elements in my music and visual creations.

In Brunswick, you may have seen most of Aber’s art on Sydney Rd. Many of his creations show up at sunset when roller doors of various businesses come down. He has also painted more Mr. Wall Owner’s canvases on Nicholson Street and you can stumble across more of his work along the Merri Creek.

As I come to the end of this article, I think of the many art pieces I saw on those books at Brunswick’s library. It makes me feel good and proud to think that Aber chose Melbourne to do his kind of shit and it makes me wonder as the street art movement keeps growing, how many other powerful combinations I’m yet to find!

If you’re curious about Aber’s work, we invite you to follow him on Instagram

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Interested in the books mentioned above? Visit Brunswick’s Library