Fabulous ghost sign projection at Gertrude Street projection festival

Gertrude Street in Fitzroy is home to a ghost sign I've snapped a number of times. Now it's been given a new lease of life during this week's Gertrude Street projection festival. The phone pics below don't do justice to the brilliant animated projection by FloodSlicer (http://gspf.com.au/program/artists/floodslicer/), an architectural visualisation studio whose projection is about "extending the theme of illumination both literally and figuratively...‘dissolving’ the bricks away in places to reveal a space/place beyond."

Brilliant hand-painted advertising from Jaffa

Not strictly ghost signs, but too good not to share :). I've been in Israel for the last week, and stumbled on these beauties in Jaffa:

Scouts, Arabic style.

See the shawarma spit?

The old Ottoman hamam (communal baths) on the Jaffa hill. What's real and what's not?

Jaffa flea market

...and down the road in Bat Yam.

A couple of great Bushells Tea signs from Sydney, thanks to Mark

Here are some pics of two ace Bushells signs from Meadowbank and Fairfield in Sydney. Thank you Mark Clifton-Smith for sending them to me:

Exhibition of ghost sign-related photos currently on at the City Library in Flinders Lane

Thanks Pete for giving me the heads up about this exhibition now on at the City Library in Melbourne's CBD:

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/MelbourneLibraryService/WhatsOn1/Pages/Exhibitions.aspx

Signs of our times, Stephanie Stead

Stephanie Stead has been a Black and White printer in a professional and personal capacity for over 35 years, working in photographic labs and then having her own business. Over the years she has been lucky to work on printing projects with John Cato, Albert Tucker and Alfred Gregory - Highlights in her career. Black and White photography being her passion, it was logical that she used this medium to document these signs using old school techniques.
First she sourced the signs and documented them with a digital camera - these images became her colour reference. Then she set off with her medium format camera loaded with film and re-shot them in Black and White.
The next stage, printing silver gelatin prints and toning them in Hypo Alum to give an aged feel and then finally, hand colouring the signs with oil paints.
When: Wednesday 2 July to Tuesday 29 July
Where: Gallery @ City Library 

Latest mention of our ghost sign interest (obsession?) in the Sydney Morning Herald

Here's another media mention of our ghost sign work, this time in a recent edition of the Sydney Morning Herald.

The article is about the restoration of the famous Chesty Bonds sign - and it mentions our forthcoming academic book too:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/chesty-bond-gets-a-facelift-20140627-zsmys.html

Some more signs from Brunswick and Coburg

This weekend I dropped in to some back streets of Brunswick and Coburg. Here's what I found. Firstly, Brunswick:

 The next ones are of the famous former grocery that was sold recently and turned up in real estate mags:

And across the road:

Now, Coburg. A sign for The Age on Sydney Road led to a nearby back street, and the rest: