During the summer London was lucky to receive a visit from two exceptionally talented Australian artists, who both very much made the most of their short visit from across the other side of the world to get up all over the place. One of the artists in question was John Murray – aka Mort Murray – who predominantly paints personified Emu’s, inspired by the wildlife of his homeland, based on his exceptionally original Ernie character, which has evolved into a whole host of variations – as exemplified below. Painted at impressive speed for acrylic paint and brush work, it was a pleasure to witness John Murray paint two spots on his day in Penge, and in general whilst in London, to leave such an incredible series of Emu’s in a host of fashions, be it a punk aesthetic or a classic city gent. Whatever the subject there is a strong subversive dynamic to his subjects, as characterized by the abundance of facial jewelry they feature – or what some of they may be smoking. It was an absolute pleasure to have this artist come paint in London and even more so to have him come and paint in our corner of the world, we for one very much hope it isn’t to long before he returns to share some of his captivating and fun characters for us to enjoy further.

The works below in Penge and Anerley were placed up with support from ourselves London Calling Blog for our community mural project SprayExhibition20. We of course wish to say a massive thank you to Mort Murray for supporting the community initiatives we involve ourselves with and for leaving such a captivating pair of artworks in our corner of the world in the process. We would also like to offer a big thanks to Mr Zappa for the hookup. As well as a thank you to each of the respective property owners in Penge and Anerley for donating their spaces to our community project.

John Murray at Work.

Work in Thornsett Place, Anerley.

Work at the Penge Rooftop Gallery.

Excellent silhouette of the skyline in front of this wall.

Works by Tamoonz, Mort Murray and Frankie Strand.

Works by Fat Cap Sprays, Tamoonz, Mort Murray & Frankie Strand.

Work in Sclater Street, Shoreditch.