On a rooftop in Fitzroy on a cool Melbourne Saturday night, some of the best street artists from Australia and New Zealand gathered for the finals of the Red Bull Wreckers Yard. The culmination of this Trans Tasman event saw Brisbane artist Sofles took the top spot for the second year running. Some incredible pieces were whipped up by the artists in what was an impressive series of just 12 minute rounds, and I for one am certainly looking forward to some more of these Trans Tasman combos.

“Over the past four weeks, Red Bull Wreckers Yard has been taking street art culture from dark alleyways and train tracks to the people in seven qualifier rounds in seven major cities across Australia and New Zealand. The touring competition ended with a big bang at the Trans Tasman Final in Fitzroy, the hub of Melbourne street art. The Evelyn Hotel converted their rooftop for one night only to street art enthusiasts especially for the occasion!”

Wildcard entry Sofles battled against Itch (Melbourne), Gimiks (Brisbane), William (Perth), Store (Adelaide), Peque (Sydney), Yelz (Wellington) and Seekayem (Auckland). In each round, the two competing artists were each provided with a blank canvas, a common theme chosen randomly and three minutes to choose their Ironlak paint colours and dream up their masterpiece.

A panel of three industry experts –Chris Henderson (Acclaim Magazine), Jeremy Gaschk (Rtist Gallery) and Sirum (Ironlak) judged artwork based on creativity, style and theme interpretation.

Winner Sofles said it best, “Wreckers Yard is a great event that brings lots of fun people together and gives good opportunities to graffiti artists. Street art is starting to come out as a legitimate form of art and I’m glad Red Bull is supporting it.”

For more info on the event and photos from the night, see the Red Bull website.