1971. Shoreditch, London (23)

I thoroughly enjoy acquainting myself with the work of artists new to me, and becoming familiar with and knowledgable about their work. Of course, it takes time to do this, but that is what I like spending time doing.

Sten and Oli came into my consciousness during my visit to Shoreditch last November. In some small areas, it became difficult not to find some of their charming creations, mostly pasted at knee height, and all little characters of varying kinds.

These three little critters seem to come from the family of long-eared creations – most endearing, but also with a bit of a dark side to their personas. They remind me a little bit of the gremlins in the movie who could switch from cute to bad boys in an instant on contact with water.

I surely love these wheatpastes, they have real class and a collectability about them. I managed to bag a few on my trip, but know there are many more out there to find. Of course, what really needs to happen is for Sten and Oli to make a trip down to Bristol… always welcome here.