Sandra Bardas: Graffiti & Stencil Art: from the late 1990s and onwards

David Bardas recalls how his wife, Sandra Bardas, who died in 2007, sought every opportunity to photograph the graffiti she spotted in Australian cities and international centres on their business trips around the world. Her interest dates back to the 1990s, before the art form's current popularity and entry into the art market. He suggests that she recognised and empathised with the free spirit and rebelliousness of the mostly anonymous graffiti artists and their need to be seen and heard. An artist herself, and a mother of six, she was unafraid to speak out and was attracted by the colour and inventiveness demonstrated in the photographic images which are the subject of this book. Ken McGregor comments on current examples of stencil and graffiti in Melbourne laneways and how stencil artists' works are now attracting art collectors.