MIKE Maka has won the inaugural Cheaper Buy Miles Footscray street art competition.
Maka, aka ‘Makatron’, took out the $4000 first prize with his entry Bs (pictured), pipping Damian Mitchell into the $500 second prize for his artwork Jana.
Bs is the latest in a long line of works painted by Maka on walls worldwide to explore the “interface between man, beast and machine”.
Cheaper Buy Miles owner Grant Miles said each of the 36 entrants had painted a 2-metre-wide by 1.5-metre-high spot on the Chambers Lane wall of the Footscray store.
“The judges’ decision was extremely difficult, with so many great works of art completed. All entries were of a very high calibre.”
The winners were announced on Saturday by Melbourne artist Jessica Kease and Kendall Henry, a street art expert from New York.
Mr Henry said the competition showcased some amazingly creative entries by artists who covered a range of ages and experience levels.
“First prize winner Makatron’s Bs goes beyond just a painting on the wall. The giant bees almost seem alive with their exquisitely rendered fuzzy backs and transparent wings.”
He described Mitchell’s Jana as an “awesome image”, mixing it up with graffiti writing style and stenciling. “What she’s [the image] doing depends on your state of mind.” —Benjamin Millar
