Australia is fast becoming a giant outdoor art gallery. From epic painted silos across Victoria’s mallee region, to grand murals transforming towns like Tumby Bay in South Australia and the popularity of outdoor art festivals such as Sheffield’s Mural Fest in Tasmania, it seems there are few bare surfaces that haven’t caught the eye of a growing band of talented outdoor artists.
In this richly illustrated coffee table book, award-winning author, and respected artist in his own right, Alasdair McGregor explores the creative and community forces driving this grass roots art movement. He visits the small towns where dreams of joining the burgeoning Silo Art Trail have united rural communities in efforts to transform their faded agricultural heritage into grand visions that instil pride and bring the tourists in. He meets some of the characters at the heart of the rural art movement and delves into the stories behind the faces in the paintings. He profiles the artists, many of whom began as graffitists, but who are now in demand around the world for their jaw dropping ability to transform massive surfaces with paint, often in record time.