STREET ART IN WHITECHAPEL

STREET ART  IN WHITECHAPEL

      You can see much of London's best street art by wandering aimlessly around the Brick Lane area - known locally as Banglatown with its proliferation of Bangladeshi and Indian restaurants. But, to get the best experience, I would recommend taking a walking tour with Alternative London. Our excellent guide Josh, himself a street artist, took us on a two-hour stroll around Shoreditch and Whitechapel, with a lavishly illustrated explanation of the culture and history of graffiti and street art.

      Graffiti is illegal in London but local government attitudes vary. Here in Whitechapel it can be done in broad daylight without fear of arrest .....

     And there is certainly no problem if a curry house gives their permission for you to decorate their establishment .....

..... the large mural on the left was painted by Jaykaes with the blessing of the owner of Preem Indian Restaurant. Jaykaes adds a QR code to each of his pieces so you can go to his website and buy prints - or commission murals.

      A photograph of Audrey Hepburn by Yousuf Karsh inspired this 2020 painting above the Brick Lane Brasserie by French artist Zabou. She added the white tulips as a refence to the hybrid Dutch variety named after Hepburn. Incidentally, the Brick Lane Brasserie does a decent curry.

..... any scaffolding is a magnet for street artists, especially if they are not one of a select few rich enough to hire their own hoists. Otherwise, it's long-handled brushes and rollers if you want your creations to stay out of reach.

       Graffiti might seem to be unchecked but urban artists have an informal code of conduct whereby you should only paint over an existing work if you can improve on it - as illustrated here on Quaker Street ....

     And they generally respect the work of established street artists like Jimmy C .....

                             Fashion Street                                                  Hanbury Street

     Jimmy C (James Cochran) is an Australian-born English artist known for his "drip-painting" or "aerosol pointillism" technique - basically a collection of blobs.

   Other artists easily identified from their own distinctive style include Stik and Jonesy ....

 

     Stik's large stick figures comprising six lines and two dots can be seen everywhere. Wary of the Quran's ban on creating realistic human images, Stik sought clearance from the local Muslim community before painting this reflection of racial harmony in Banglatown. It's been here on Princelet Street since 2010, regularly freshened up by other street artists.

     It would be easy to miss the small bronze sculptures stuck on the top of street signs by Jonesy.  This one is on the corner or Hanbury Street and Wilkes Street. Jonesy, a respected veteran of the street art fraternity, has never sought to capitalise on his work.

    London-based Perspicere creates highly individual 3-D images. These intricate creations, building up layers of threads, are very time-consuming to produce and only displayed on the streets after completion. 

    NB Perspicere is an inflection of the Latin verb perspicio meaning 'to see through'. 

    The tour guides love Grey Eagle Street. Not only does it have an ever-changing wall of fine murals, there are also some well-preserved works from legends of the genre.

    The distinctive font of Londoner Helch, often seen in seemingly inaccessible places, is even more widespread than Stik's figures.

 

     The Grey Eagle Street murals are regularly painted over. Even the best ones have a lifespan of  around three months, especially those at street level.

     But higher up, there are some significant - and relatively permanent - works ....

    This 8-bit space invader mosaic may look familiar as there are over 4000 of them worldwide. They are (allegedly) the brainchild of French street artist Franck Slama aka Invader Was Here. There is even a FlashInvaders app where you can track them and score points. But it's unlikely anyone will ever gain a maximum given there are some in the depths of the ocean - and one on the International Space Station. 

    The mosaics, made of ceramic tiles, are impossible to steal without damaging them. In any case, it would be difficult to prove you have a genuine piece as anyone can make a fake with tiles from their local DIY store, maybe something to think about the next time your bathroom needs renovating.

    Ronzo is best known for his series of  Urban Monsters designed to highlight the chaos and  absurdities of  city life. He has a shop at Arch I, 148A Brick Lane, London E1 6QL.

    The Hi-Fi mural tagged Obey in Grey Eagle Street is the work of prolific American artist and activist Shephard Fairey.

    The Shadowplay mural (below, left) in nearby Hanbury Street is also one of his .....

             ...... as, famously, is the iconic poster he designed for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Which has been much imitated ....

         There's lots more good stuff by Shepard Fairey, see https://obeygiant.com. 

     There's another long line of impressive murals on the wall alongside Allen Gardens ...

    In tiny Seven Stars Yard you can enjoy an illegal portrait gallery of heroes and villains .....

     

 

    There's much more in the Brick Lane area; check out Fashion, Princelet and Hanbury Streets. Here's some to look out for. Don't expect them to be there forever .....

 

  

This last one (above) is the creation of Palestinian artist Taqi Spateen.

Postscripts:

   A few days after my tour, there was much excitement as nine Banksys appeared around London in as many days. One is on the bridge over Brick Lane where we'd walked just a few days earlier ....

                             To the surprise of no-one it soon had a plastic shield ....

    All nine can be seen here. 

     Update: Transport for London workmen have power-washed the monkeys away. TfL said they were 'concerned about anti-social behaviour being linked to the artwork'. Maybe attracting rogue monkeys?

One for the diary .... 

    The last London Mural Festival was in 2020. It was during the pandemic. So, with little else to do, I went hunting for them by car (essential travel!) .....

 

     These last two are the unmistakable contributions from Shepard Fairey and Zabou both of whom will paint new works for this year's festival.

    The 2024 London Mural Festival is aiming to add 100 more murals to the 80 commissioned in 2020. A map should eventually appear here. Or you can wait for me to post the best ones. This may take a while is I'll be reliant on public transport this time around.