On the other side of Jesmond Street, this sticker covers a Telstra box – a comment on Telstra’s practices, a general comment about telecommunications/electrical infrastructure, or just a random surface to paste something on?

This spaceman is near the corner of Mary Lane and Albion Way, Surry Hills.

Paste ups occupy pretty much the same spot in the hierarchy of street art as tags. Quick to get up on a wall, and often barely sketched out, they rarely rise above their function.

For a while the only creative, really original paste ups we saw were from Jumbo and Zap. They’ve been quiet, so it’s good to see new characters pop up.

But it’s not just Bourke Street, and it’s not just those two.

Whoever is Premier of New South Wales next week might well front up to a press conference on Macquarie Street and talk about getting tough on graffiti. But on the streets this year, Sydney has witnessed a huge resurgence in public art — for its own sake. We’re enchanted by the stuff because it’s ephemeral, because it adds an unexpected magic to our streets, and mostly because it’s absolutely obviously clear that the artist made it for us.

That’s the beginning of a piece I wrote, covering a lot of great stuff that’s had first airing here, you can find the rest at New Matilda.

The old fold-back doors are boarded up – they were always perfect for the kind of summer afternoons we’re shaping up for. You can just imagine the kind of forlorn looks locals give the place every day.

Well enough is enough. One of our favourite street artists in this town, Zap, kicked off a one-man cultural reclamation this week, on one of those boarded up doors at the corner of Bourke and Fitzroy Streets.

It’s a fairly abstracted, Madvillain-esque character, and it’s one of the coolest Zap paste-ups I’ve seen.

The lanky pair had a big spate of work around inner Sydney several months ago. But they’ve been relatively quiet since. Probably because they’ve had work in a few gallery shows, including Go Font Urself, and Melinda Vassallo’s book, Street Art of Sydney’s Inner West.

Just around the corner from Central railway station, the little alcove’s rich in paste-ups, though fading.

In that mostly non-descript part of Surry Hills, filled with cut-price rag-trade outlets and offices, it’s hard to imagine anyone finding fault with Jumbo and Zap’s bright bit of experimental typography – least of all the people living in the warehouse upstairs.

This back alley cash swap appeared on Pennys Lane, Kings Cross, last month – it was mentioned by Rachel in our comments at the end of August, but we walked by yesterday and photographed it.

We asked Zap for an interview a few weeks ago. He’s been studiously ignoring our email.

This one’s got some extraterrestrial space funk vibes.

We have to
get out of here
Zap the monster
hand is going
to take us
to the galazy
of giants
we are ants
there

A reference to Sun Ra, P-Funk, or the graffitiist’s ’80s funk name sake, Zapp?

I know, I know. We’re at risk of becoming a Zap fan blog. But occasionally you come across someone who’s doing something cool, right at the moment they’re doing it.

Nonchalantly, I walked through the car wash between Victoria Street and Darlinghurst Road, silently cursing myself that I’d left the camera at home. All the while, 2 capped men plastered a “J” on the wall of the stencil gallery, adjacent to the rapping dinosaurs.

This morning, their handywork was up for all to see.

Strange message, Zap.

UPDATE: 21/8/09

Mystery solved. But like most solutions to mysteries, it’s a bit disappointing.

It was shut for a couple of months over summer, and the latest car wash business to step in to the space – Star – might have dampened enthusiasm. But this week, we spotted some new activity.

Looks like the artist, ZAP, might have done a large scale paste-up to get around the proprietor.

Two dinosaurs rapping? Hip-hop gesticulation?