Street artist Mysterious Al is bringing the thrill back to art with Spookhouse

London-born and Melbourne-based street artist Mysterious Al never thought he’d call Australia home, but it took a spray-cation visit in 2008 to help him change his mind.

“Melbourne wasn’t on my radar at all, but a street artist friend of mine living here at the time told me about the street scene and how amazing it was,” says Mysterious Al.

“I remember painting in Hosier Lane in the middle of the day back then, or a wall in Cremorne and it wasn’t frowned upon at all. We even had old ladies watch on and give us compliments.”

These days you won’t find Mysterious Al doing paste-ups or street art. Instead, he’s channelling his artistic energy into a new installation – Spookhouse – where he brings an old fun fair ghost train to life to take us on a trip you’d least expect.

The painter turned sculptor has been obsessed with hosting shows in derelict warehouses on the city’s fringe, and he brings a pantomime thrill to one in Collingwood, where he finds a new way to bring his art to the masses.

The ghost train itself is making its way from Queensland in a three-day road journey while Mysterious Al has been frantically working on putting it all together. The project has been two years in the making.

The ghost train art experience is the first of its kind in the world, where his paintings, sculptures [they’re turned into animated robots] and the sense of the unknown are designed to stir all kinds of nostalgia. There is animation, projections, merchandise and a gallery and gift shop, too.

“My work is like a Pixar movie – on the surface it’s bright, colourful and kids love it but if you look deeper there’s a melancholy aspect to it. You’ll always see a happy and sad face in there,” says Mysterious Al of his works of child-like wonderment. Behind the kitsch exterior and bright lights of a fun fair lies its dark underbelly.

“There is also something a little bit dangerous which appeals to me, and with the ghost train there is a nostalgic fear of the unexpected. I wanted to harness that energy in Spookhouse.”

The father of one with a second on the way says artists like him need to find new ways to get noticed because exhibitions held in traditional galleries are unappealing – unless you’re Rone taking over the Geelong Art Gallery on your terms.

“The gallery model is done. Instagram has destroyed it,” says Mysterious Al, who exhibited in disused London shopfronts with other street artists in the early 2000s before press interest triggered a mainstream wave of curiosity. Spookhouse, a family-friendly day out, is designed to bring that street art scene back to life via a new experiment.

“I want the unexpected anticipation to come back to art shows, where people will be talking about it for years to come,” says Mysterious Al, who shared a studio with Rone for a year and turned to the artist for mentorship when putting this show together.

“If people are going to head out for art in these pandemic times, they want it to be well worth it on all levels and this will hopefully hit the spot.”

HoMie’s warehouse is located at 35-53 Emma Street in Collingwood. It’s set to open on Friday, March 19, and run until March 28.