I guarantee a fair whack, if not most of you have thought about leading a nomadic life at one point or another. Casting the shackles of the work-a-day world off and hitting the road permanently; bouncing from town to town, city to city, country to country; constantly flipping ~the man~ the goddamned bird and living in a way that’s only dictated by you and you alone. Making art, making love, making life, man. Living life free.
Maximum Kerouac, basically.
Vaguely relevant preamble aside, one drifter has found himself a permanent home in the prison systems of Victoria for the next 6 months, after a Melbourne Magistrate tossed him in the slammer for the next half a year over graffiti-related crimes.
Internationally-known and reasonably infamous tagger Jim Clay Harper, who goes by the non de plume Ether, will spend the next six months behind Australian prison bars after the Magistrates court handed down the sentence to the 31-year-old American for attempted robbery and committing criminal damage.
Harper, along with his partner Danielle Bremner (who goes by the tagging name Utah) have developed something of a reputation for themselves, as the pair has used the past few years to travel around the world, tagging trains, buildings, and everything in between.
As Utah & Ether, the pair have been described on at least one occasion by the New York Times as the “Bonnie & Clyde” of the international graffiti scene. The pair broke probation back in their native US in 2011, skipping the country to bounce around Europe and Asia on a virtually endless quest.
Together, the pair have produced several films and books on their exploits, tagging across multiple continents and countries, including the likes of Argentina, France, Japan, China, Italy, and back in their native USA.
The pair arrived in Melbourne via the United Arab Emirates on April 21st, and proceeded to commence work tagging areas around Melbourne three days later.
Tags created by the pair have been spotted in a variety of locations, including Bayswater, South Kensington, and Pakenham train stations, as well as in Collingwood, Abbotsford, Footscray, the CBD, and at both RMIT University and Etihad Stadium.
Harper was arrested on May 4th after he and an associate were caught pasting stickers up on the windows of businesses on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. A witness caught the duo in the act and confronted them, only for Harper’s associate to turn and yell at the witness.
“You’re in fucking Fitzroy, mate. If you don’t like it, go back to the ‘burbs.“
Charming, no?
The witness pursued the pair and tried to take their photo, at which point Harper attempted to snatch the phone off of the man, who resisted, leading Harper to punch him in the face.
Police later caught up with Harper and arrested him. Bremner’s whereabouts is at this point still unknown, though Harper’s legal team asserted in court that she was already en route to Hong Kong.
This stint in prison might not be the only one Harper completes, either. It’s entirely likely that upon his release he’ll be extradited back to the US, where he faces another six month stint in New York’s infamous Rikers Island jail for outstanding graffiti-related charges.
Harper, and Bremner, have both already served time in prison previously.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald.
Photo: UtahEther.com.
