b'in the canleft: Melbourne-based artist Drez stands in front of a mural he created for the Benalla Street Art Festival painted with Resene Violent Violet, Resene Christalle, Resene Tory Blue, Resene Sail, Resene Pattens Blue and Resene White.Resene Resene ReseneWhite Sail ChristalleResene Resene ResenePattens Blue Tory Blue Violent Violeteffect. Graffiti was important in terms of building a foundation for creating movement and discovering what happens when you put different colours next to one another. Thats when I started to create different visual effects that would build a feeling of energy. When I moved towards painting and geometric non-figurative work, I was getting to a point where I wanted to pull back from a broader lens to focus on colour, how it informs movement and depth and all the ways in which it can alter space. I would do the same with graffiti, but back then, it took on a much rawer form, he recalls.WhatDrezconsidershisflagshipprojectamuralhe completed for ESR Australia & NZ in 2024, titled Chromatic Oscillationis a colossal 216m x 14m symphony of colour. It was a memorable project for me because its so large but also because of its location. Its right on the side of a motorway and Drez reshapes our human connectiongets passed by more than 100,000 cars each day so it was to urban spaces through visual effectsdesignedtorespondtothatmovement.Therearedifferent gradients layered on top of one another that change as you that need to be seen to be believed. travel from right to left. It was such a great opportunity and a treat for me to be able to put my ideas out there like that. I used around 30 different Resene paint colours for it, which O n walls that Melburnians previously passed but neverlandscaper. I think they all influenced me in a visual sense as theywere then hand mixed to create about 300 different colours pausedtoappreciate,innovativeworksbyAustralianwere each concerned with aesthetics. Doing creative work hasin total that allowed me to create that visual effect, Drez says.artist Drez are now grabbing attention. Through vividalways been at the forefront of my priorities. But for a long time,Though Drez has found his unique artistic voice through his Resene palettes and shapeshifting gradients, his work is a physicalit seemed like an impossible task to actually make money as aninstantly recognisable technique, he never stops experimenting. testament to the emotional power of colour. Armed with a distinctartist. When I was starting out, I didnt know anyone who made aImalwaysplayingwithdifferentcolours,transitionsand visuallanguagethatblendsanexceptionalunderstandingofliving just by making paintings. movements. Theres always one little thing here or there that colour theory, geometric precision and playful experimentation,Over the past 16 years, Drez has undergone an evolutiongets tweaked as Im starting to play around, and I might come Drez aims to create immersive spatial experiences that speak tofrom being primarily a graffiti artist to a successful muralist and aback to it another time with another piece. I take a slower and their immediate environment, enabling viewers to take control ofgallery artist. With that progression, he has taken on a minimalistmore measured approach to my experiments now. I think I used what they perceive. approach to form and shape thats defined by his brilliant use ofto be all over the place with wild experimentations, but Ive Born and raised in Melbourne, Drez says he has always beencolour. I started pushing the boundaries of my visual imagerybecome more restrained.creativebuthadtroublebelievinghecouldmakeafull-timeback when I started doing graffiti, and thats where I startedThe aesthetic explorations he embarks on today are primarily career of being an artist. My uncle is an architect, my mumexploringcolouranddevelopingmymethodforcombiningtied to the environments where his murals will live. I believe my did interior design and is now a ceramicist, and my dad was adifferent hues to create whats become my signature gradientbest works are pieces that integrate with and pull colours from blackwhitemag.com 25'