Newtown Area Graffiti and Street Art - Poster or 'Paste Up'/'Wheatpaste' Graffiti

Poster or 'Paste Up'/'Wheatpaste' Graffiti

Since the mid-2000s innumerable examples of this new form of graphic street art have appeared in the Newtown area. Many small poster and sticker type graffiti graphics have been placed in various locations over the last few years, but these larger works — similar in scope to the many large poster graffiti works that have appeared in Melbourne in recent years — are a relatively recent development in Newtown.

Unlike the conventional painted designs and the recent popularity for stencil graffiti, these new works are essentially a form of poster art. Smaller designs are typically monochrome photocopies (some of which may be hand coloured) while others have been printed as self-adhesive stickers which are often affixed to roadside traffic signs.

Several large-format examples have appeared in 2007 such as the 'cartoon' figures pictured below, and the bus design, which was approximately a metre in length. Some, such as the octopus design from Gladstone St, appear to have been hand-painted or screen printed onto the backs of commercially printed street posters.