# Stella Galliano's Home Sweet Home



## jerm IX (Jan 18, 2013)

Home Sweet Home by jerm IX, on Flickr

It caught my eye: HOME SWEET HOME, sprayed in large red letters across the garage door beside an abandoned white house on Highway 69 outside of Britt, Ontario, about a hundred kilometres south of Sudbury. A young kid painting the words, or rather a painted young kid painting the words.

A quick U-turn was in order. But as we pulled up, a pick-up truck turned into the driveway and continued in behind the house. Another U-turn, and we continued our journey north to Killarney Provincial Park, noting the location for a visit on our return trip a week later.

In the meantime, I shared this location with a fellow explorer, and he made an immediate trip to investigate it for himself. He subsequently posted it online, sharing his view on not only the house and its contents, but his personal anger towards the street artists that had vandalized/decorated the garage door. This prompted a debate between the two of us, and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. In fact, it was the beginning of a downward spiral that led to a falling out between the two of us.

Those of you that know me, are well aware that I have had my feet firmly planted in the street art world for many years. Although I have taken an extended hiatus from actively producing street art to focus on other interests, (including releasing my debut hip hop record, urban exploration, and getting sober) I am still deeply entrenched in the street art community. I am currently producing work for a new street art project that I am very excited about, which I hope to unleash on the public in spring and summer of this year.

I have been pondering the relationship between street artists and urban explorers in great detail of late, and figured I'd share some of those musings here and now. Please keep in mind that these are only my opinions and thoughts. I do not claim to be right or have any authority on the subject. It is important to note that as a member of the urban exploration community, I no longer put my own artwork up in abandoned buildings.

Street artists and graffiti writers are quite often disliked and downright detested by a vocal group within the urban exploration community. From the explorer's perspective, this is not without good reason. Not only is it perceived as vandalism by some members of the exploration community, whose arguably loosely followed motto is 'take only photographs, leave only footprints', it is also widely seen to deter from the natural photogenic aspects of decay and the story of the lives once lived in these locations. Just as importantly, graffiti, like any vandalism, such as broken windows, forced open doors, or even looting and theft, are clear signs to property owners and/or security that someone has been to a location, therefore heating it off and risking that it could be resealed or patrolled more frequently. Understandable.

On the other side of the coin however, graffiti artists were finding and exploring abandoned locations in search of remote places to hone their skills and leave their mark for decades before anyone identifying as an urban explorer started poking around with a camera, and claiming some inherent ownership of these locations.

Of course, in cases of spray painted swastikas and penises and curse words, often misspelled, with no arguable artistic merit, just kids being kids: Well, no one cares for that shit.

The artwork/vandalism at this location, that sparked this particular debate was done by two up and coming street artists, relatively new to the Ontario scene.




Deadboy by jerm IX, on Flickr

The black and white skull is the calling card of 'Deadboy'. He is best known for his very popular stenciled depictions of disgraced Toronto mayor and profound buffoon Rob Ford, sprayed all over the city of Toronto. Like many street artists, he also faces criticism from the graffiti community, which widely perceives paste-ups and stencils as a cheap mockery of the art form.




Denial by jerm IX, on Flickr

The kid painting HOME SWEET HOME is the work of 'Denial'. Many people, both inside and outside of the graffiti and street art communities, would argue that this particular piece is one of many imitations of work previously done and overdone by Banksy. But herein lies the the beauty of art, and in life, we all perceive things differently. While the average Joe and maybe even the average urban explorer alike may find this piece to be an eyesore and an intrusion on not only the property, but the beautiful natural northern landscape... I love it. The art breathes life into a dead space, and it provokes thought, which is what all great art should be about, in my opinion. In particular for me, it sparked thoughts about the ephemeral nature of it all: Street art, graffiti, urban exploration, our societal infrastructure and life itself.

What this debate really boils down to is personal choice. All of the aforementioned groups have one thing in common: They break the law. In interviews about my street art, I am often asked my take on art versus vandalism, and where I draw the line? The answer is simple, I can only draw that line for myself. I wasn't personally comfortable with the damage I was doing to my community with the use of spray paint years ago, so I traded in my spray cans in favour of less destructive tools: Paper and paste. That was the redrawing of my line. But beyond myself, I cannot say where that line should be drawn, or stenciled, or spray painted. I am a proud supporter of graffiti and street art in all its forms. It is the rawest and purest form of art ever. It doesn't cater to gallery owners and clients, it doesn't care if you like it, or buy it. It is not for sale...

And much like the urban explorers that detest it, it doesn't ask permission.

Now, lets have look around.

The house of cards



The house of cards by jerm IX, on Flickr

The coming down period



The coming down period by jerm IX, on Flickr


The high chair and the dryer



The high chair and the dryer by jerm IX, on Flickr


The chaos within



The chaos within by jerm IX, on Flickr

The bottle swallowed me



The bottle swallowed me by jerm IX, on Flickr

The curtain call



The curtain call by jerm IX, on Flickr

The things we tend to bottle up



The things we tend to bottle up by jerm IX, on Flickr

The assurance of insurance



The assurance of insurance by jerm IX, on Flickr

The way we used to watch



The way we used to watch by jerm IX, on Flickr

The memories we forget



The memories we forget by jerm IX, on Flickr

The death of the written word



The death of the written word by jerm IX, on Flickr

The 2012 hockey lock-out



The 2012 hockey lock-out by jerm IX, on Flickr

The way it ends



The way it ends by jerm IX, on Flickr



This was once the home sweet home of Stella Galliano and family. A former resident of Santa Monica, California, Stella moved here from Buffalo, New York, in late 1978, when she was hired to work in the Sudbury Centre of The Canadian Red Cross. As is often the case, the date of abandonment, and what became of Stella and her family is not known.


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## jerm IX (Jan 18, 2013)

My bad, this was intended for the Overseas forum.


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## perjury saint (Jan 18, 2013)

*What a crackin report! Really enjoyed that... Only one point i dont agree with, although the term 'urban explorer' hasnt been around as long as grafitti, i think that people have surely been mooching around derelict buildings way before the grafitti explosion in the late 70s early 80s.
Of course i could be wrong...*


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## flyboys90 (Jan 18, 2013)

That was good,thanks for sharing.


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## jerm IX (Jan 21, 2013)

Cheers fellas.


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## DreadHead (Jan 21, 2013)

Nice pics mate 

Thanks for sharing these with us


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## MrDan (Jan 21, 2013)

Lovely photos, nice find, and I can appreciate the 'street art' too.
It's a shame when you see graffiti in certain locations, and it's tough to draw the line as to where is socially acceptable and where is not. I often find myself questioning my own opinions on it.
But similarly to perjury, I'm sure there were people taking an interest in to derelict/abandoned buildings (whether documenting or not) before graffiti was widely practised.

Saw the photo of Crown Royal, apparently Seagram was purchased in 2000 and as such hasn't been branded that since then.
The drink was actually brewed in Ontario until 1992 and is still bottled there today. (I know Ontario is huge, much larger than the UK as a whole)


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## jerm IX (Jan 22, 2013)

Cheers. Yes, people were definitely poking around abandoned buildings long before Graf writers started hitting. But no one ever tried to claim any ownership or attempt to morally control locations until urbexers. That was the point. 

I know that the street art / vandalism argument is played out to some, but I thoroughly enjoy discussing it and hearing people's opinions on the subject.


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## NakedEye (Feb 9, 2013)

excellent find well captured. cheers for sharing


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## jerm IX (Feb 11, 2013)

Thanks NakedEye.

I have heard all of the anger from urbexers in North America on this topic, but I'd love to hear your interpretations on the other side of the pond, where street art is much more respected and celebrated. Thoughts, opinions?


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## UrbanX (Feb 11, 2013)

Nice one, always love seeing this place! Great photos!


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## jerm IX (Feb 14, 2013)

UrbanX said:


> Nice one, always love seeing this place! Great photos!



You've seen this place before? Cool.


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