Melbourne street artist Steve Cross felt compelled to pay homage to Sisto Malaspina in the wake of his sudden death in the Bourke Street attack on November 9.
When he heard of Malaspina’s death, street artist Steve Cross went with his son to leave flowers in front of Pellegrini’s like many other Melburnians. But he felt like the gesture wasn’t enough.
"As a visual artist, I felt the need to contribute more,” Cross tells SBS Italian.
Listen to Carlo Oreglia's interview with artist Steve Cross in the banner above
The artist has started work on a mural of the much-loved flamboyant co-owner of Pellegrini's Espresso Bar.
“It was a way to contribute in a way he [Sisto] would have admired and liked as well."
A regular customer at Pellegrini’s, Cross says that while he wasn't a close friend of Sisto Malaspina he saw him many times.
“If you saw him you knew him in a way. He was very transparent."
In his Cross' opinion, Malaspina was a strong symbol of what Melbourne stands for, the multiculturalism and the stories of people working and leading by example.
The mural, located on the external wall of a house in Waterloo Street, Carlton, is not yet finished, but Cross hopes to have it completed by the end of the week.
“I made the job a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be.”
