Hello again...More than a year ago I was invited by the City of Melbourne to do a short doco on a graffiti artist from the UK, Mohammed Ali (AKA Aerosol Arabic) , mentoring or collaborating we'll call it with 14 muslim women from Melbourne who call themselves Crooked Rib. They produced the most wonderful graffiti in Spark Lane, Melbourne, which I think is still there in it's entirety.
The doco was completed under the title 'Ali and the Crooked Rib' and is now being distributed through the City of Melbourne. If you would like a viewing copy drop me a line at info@jacksonblackfilms.com.
Sometime around the 14th of January 2010, in the morning I received a phone call in haste from Mohammed Ali, inviting me to come t the UK to film a doco on the production and the event titled 'Writing on the wall'. If I can quote Ben East from The National newspaper, and here is his article in full Spray Something. "Writing on the Wall is Mohammed Ali’s life’s work distilled into one night. Over a seven-year period, he has exhibited his spray can art in locations around the world, including Abu Dhabi. He has also met and collaborated with artists from across the creative spectrum. It’s the culmination of an idea he had four years ago. It wasn't a simple live graffiti event, or a poetry slam with some pretty backgrounds. This is a proper, coherent show. The three poets, Dreadlock Alien, Zena Edwards and Amir Sulaiman, do more than simply present their work – they act it in situ. Meanwhile, there is live percussion and audio snippets as Ali dashes around the warehouse, even jumping onto a cherrypicker, to continue work on his mural. When Edwards begins to sing, too, the emotion is tangible."
I'm currently piecing together a documentary that may go to someway in telling a story of Mohammeds journey to wall. So long for now.
