The benefit art show for Ket’s legal fund was visually inspirational. The event claimed to be the largest gallery exhibit of graffiti artists.

It did not disappoint. There was plenty of work from old skoolers and new heads alike. There were classic photos from Henry Chaflant and Martha Cooper. Looking at the winning bids it seems that a substantial amount of money was raised. Works by Espo and Dalek pulled in healthy digits.

Indeed Espo created my favorite piece in the show. His sign-maker-style menagerie of classic characters (mostly from “Subway Art” the book, unless you saw the trains live back in the day) showed the imagined human animals of the train era as “the adult children of alcoholics”.

Stunning, funny and challenging work from heads like Cycle, Too Fly and Milk also stood out in the vast landscape of the Powerhouse Gallery. So did the hood celebs (plus one of my fave intellectuals, Ray Codrington). Lee (the legend) was in the house with a ten year-old he treated like a son. The kid owned the space with his youthful run, jump, climbing.

Overall, that is what event was about: family coming together to support one of its prodigal sons. The Ket case was very likely devised by law enforcement to set a precedent. Keep an eye out for how our team fares in this battle.

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