The former "graffiti kid" turned abstract muralist is painting his first in the land down under.
Matt W. Moore, 33, whose work has appeared on Ray-Ban Wayfarers, Coca-Cola bottles, Apple desktops and Nike shoes, has been commissioned to paint a mural the size of two tennis counts in Australia, according to Perthnow News.
The space is above Murray Street in Perth and will be part of a revamped 140 fashion and dining district in the city. An estimated 48,000 pedestrians will pass it each day.
"We wanted people to be walking through the mall, then all of a sudden get to 140 and think, 'Oh My God, what is that? How beautiful! What an unusual thing to do to an underside of a building'. This is a synergy between art, architecture and consumerism," said Susanne Pini, who heads up 140's architecture and design team.
The mural is expected to take five weeks and 350 litres of paint. Moore's commission for the piece was not disclosed.
The Portland, Oregon native's angular mosaics with 3D appearances are overall, well acclaimed, but not everyone fancies them.
"Some people don't react that well to graffiti art," Pini said. "They don't see it as art, though I think the culture of that is changing a lot. They're not soft, gentle pieces. They're loud. They're monumental. They're meant to be engaged with. You can touch the artwork."
She believes Moore's work will be good for both the 140 district and his type of art.
"It will change in people's minds the perception of what art could and can do to an urban place," she said. "Art is quite often, especially in cities, seen as something that's a monument. This makes art more accessible and more fun. We're not scared to provoke a reaction. I'm hoping it will open up a dialogue about what is art."
Pini thinks other cities have relationships between art and architecture and that Perth lacked that.
Moore was part of the creative team at Burton, a snowboard company, before devoting all of his time to his own projects in 2008. He splits time between commissioned work and painting spaces, frequently without permission. The prolific, entrepreneurial artist has also launched his own clothing line called Glyph Cue.
"The freedom and explorations of my personal work keeps things fresh, and ultimately, it is that work that I do on my own that keeps the phone ringing for commissioned work," he told PerthNow.
You can view some of Moore's work on his website.
