Well known Adelaide street artist - san -
tragically passed away last November 2006.
He left behind a legacy of creatures that are both visionary
and fabled among the twists and turns of the CBD and beyond.
This is the first post in a website memorial to contain
future updates about an forthcoming Post Humous Exhibition
of his best work and san related activities.
Feel free too post your own comments, stories and fables with
everyone about the san.
Also i encourage everyone to email, images, links, video and audio
of san for publication here and in future projects
peace
11 comments:
I have been trying to think all morning of a single memory I could contribute here that would capture my sentiments precisely, however the perfect story has eluded me… partly because as a person / character / soul he was complex and multi-dimensional… he had that amazing ability to fill a room while at other times simply fade into the background. There are many things I remember... a scarf turbaned head, play fighting in the backyard at Simon’s parents, climbing trees in the Botanic Gardens, his pesto pasta, Monday night dinner visits, a nod at the pool table signaling it was time to leave… drinking goon in my car… and the day he convinced us it was worth sticking around… He was actually one of the best listeners I have ever met. Occasionally he would push too much or take things too far; but he was also a gentleman in the old fashioned sense. He would always walk me to where I needed to go before parting ways and left such an impression on my grandmother, showering her with compliments that she asked about him every time I saw her until she passed away. She called him a diamond in the rough; which when broken down, is really quite appropriate. Aside from the external veneer, which could sometimes mislead, there was something remarkably beautiful within. I miss him very much and think of him often, but most importantly I am and will be forever grateful for the universal forces and led me to him and gave me the opportunity and privilege to know him and love him.
R.I.P. my dear friend
This is great Steve... hopefully we can use this to let everyone tell the Jai story.
I keep on expecting him to rock on his bike at an inappropriate time in my office. God I wish he would.
you were the joker in our deck
but you had a flipside
the game will never be the same without you
it was such a shock to see you go
but i wasnt surprised
in your time
you outlived us all
The last time I saw Jai he made me laugh so hard I was in tears. He also made a point of telling me that I needed to step up, forgive, forget, accept, embrace... At the time I dismissed it as him not understanding the full situation, but he did, he understood better than anyone. When we lost Jai, I learnt to appreciate my mates, my family, my loved ones more than ever. Jai appreciated everyone he knew everyday, unconditionally. He practiced what he preached and in doing so brought a bunch of people closer together than I thought possible. I'm so honoured that I had the chance to get to know Jai.
Jai was lucky to have such a great group of friends.
Jai's art work looks great, I love the movement and the creatures.
The music on the video clip is very uplifting .
The moving trucks a reminder of all the bends,twists and unexpected events in all our lives.
Happy travelling Jai.
SAN was a vital part of my life ;appearing everyotherday since forever in our lattice of coincidence we was totally connected ;consequently im left bewildered
that flurorange hoodie, lankyfloppy bmx cruistyle, stanky clothes waft from inside dryin attempts, direct-connekt sincerity &outright happiness incitefullness that formed the irreplaceable SAN silhouette are dna ingrained
ofcourse eye can still totally see&hear him &his SAN-a-delic idiosyncricies
"TU SABE"
lettuce maintain the SAN amongst us
rendezvous with SAN intent
carpe diem et al
SAN energy continuation
I remember working with jai and we used to reminice every thing 80's that we could, we sang things like bananarama and roxette and stuff and talked about the coreys (haim/feildman) then one day i was at his unit and asked if i wanted to stay for dinner, he made me bread and butter! it was so hilarious! He was a funny guy.
I was just reading the Messenger this morning and saw Jai's name, and then kept reading, and it just didn't make sense. Why were they saying that he was "late"? Then it made sense. I'm so sorry.
I went to uni with Jai, we studied illustration together, and we even shared a few months at school together - he gleefully reminded me that he was the guy that came to school one day in the girl's uniform. We would catch up periodically, walk the streets for a bit, him normally on his bike, grinning. I miss him.
There's still a handful of SAN pieces around town that have survived being painted over. There's one near where I work - his distinctive layered bubble people scrawl over a beige power box, and beneath, a fan has written "Nice work Jai!"
I used to sell him coffee beans at my work, around the corner from his unit ... 5 dollars worth of kilimanjaro double roast, every single time! I don't know why but i always gave him much more than what he asked me for ...
One night i saw him out at Zhivago's, we talked, we laughed, i thought he was so nice and so brave to pull out with my bad english ... from that night i gave him even bigger bags of coffees! We catched up at times, but i whish i knew him better ... such a unique and beautiful person!
Love you Jai!
People should read this.
Two years on and the void still exists... Jai...what a unique and wonderful person. Attentive, intuitive, funny, with big dreams and a big heart. I miss those random times when I would run into you unexpectedly and we would go on a crazy adventure together... I miss talking to you about life and love and ambitions... I miss discussing art and the encouragement you gave me... Thank you for all the times you were there... for walking me home... for understanding and listening... for forgiving... for making me laugh... for convincing me more than once that friendship was worth hanging onto and working on, I now realise you were right... and thank you for being a part of my life.
I will miss you always and will never forget what you have taught me xxx
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