Category: 5. Street Art

479. Jerome Street, Shoreditch (2)

Wheatpastes somehow lend themselves not only to bold political statements, but also to quirkiness and humour. I first encountered ‘Face The Strange’ at Upfest 2016 with his rather imaginative flying human ducks.

Face The Strange, Jerome Street, Shoreditch, September 2016
Face The Strange, Jerome Street, Shoreditch, September 2016

The basic technique adopted by Face The Stange, is to take every day objects and superimpose them onto the face of people, creating a rather unsettling and surreal effect. It is more than that though…as I have said many times one of the arts of wheatpasting is location and arrangement. In this aspect Face The Strange excels.

Face The Strange, Jerome Street, Shoreditch, September 2016
Face The Strange, Jerome Street, Shoreditch, September 2016

The other thing about paste ups is that they are rarely commissions, and therefore kind of illegal, which gives them an extra edge. This is my kind of stuff.

 

 

478. Jerome Street, Shoreditch (1)

Back to Shoreditch where I found this great stencil by Unify. It is called Go Fly Your Kite and features a teddy bear that has been used in other works by the artist. I first came across Unify in Bristol with this No Blowing Bubbles piece on the wall of the Highbury Vaults. It is still there.

Unify, Jerome Street, Shoreditch, September 2016
Unify, Jerome Street, Shoreditch, September 2016
I haven’t seen any more of his work in Bristol, but the more I wander around Shoreditch and Camden Town, the more pieces I am finding. I like his work a lot, and will post more when I am able to.

Unify, Jerome Street, Shoreditch, September 2016
Unify, Jerome Street, Shoreditch, September 2016

477. M32 Roundabout, J3 (21)

I still know nothing about the artist OHMS, but I know I like their work. This is an incredibly colourful and intricate piece tucked between some bushes on the side of the M32 roundabout between St Pauls and Easton.

OHMS, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, September 2016
OHMS, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, September 2016
OHMS is quite different from many of the graffiti artists in Bristol. There seems to be more of a narrative about the work, hidden depths maybe. The whole thing is quite organic, none of the crisp clear lines one sees with work by Epok, Deamze, Voyder and Soker. This appears altogether more spontaneous, although I am sure there is plenty of preparation involved.

OHMS, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, September 2016
OHMS, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, September 2016
I love the toucan in the centre of the piece…such magnificent birds. A great piece of work by OHMS.

476. M32 Roundabout, J3 (20)

Wildstyle writing is an acquired taste, and one which I have developed a hunger for, but it was not always that way. When I first started writing about street art, I was often left cold or baffled by writers (burners, throw-ups of wildstyle). I just didn’t get it.

Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2016
Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2016
One of the first writers who helped me develop an interest was Epok, one of the fantastic group of Bristol graffiti writers. His clean works usually feature large block letters spelling EPOK on a slant. His choice of colour palette really marks his work out as special too, and he finishes his pieces with bright stripes and flashes. I really admire his work.

475. Kentish Town Road (1), Camden

I really did enjoy my recent tour of Camden Town, and one of the first pieces I saw was this lovely Dan Kitchener work in a tiny car park area off the Kentish Town Road. The three walls were festooned with street art, but this piece had pride of place along the entire length of one wall.

Dan Kitchener, Kentish Town Road, Camden, September 2016
Dan Kitchener, Kentish Town Road, Camden, September 2016
Whenever I see Dan Kitchener’s works I am reminded of the book by Judith Kerr, ‘the tiger who came to tea‘. I can’t really explain why, but there is a street picture in the book which I think of every time I see Dan’s work.

Dan Kitchener, Kentish Town Road, Camden, September 2016
Dan Kitchener, Kentish Town Road, Camden, September 2016
I can’t really get enough of his extraordinary murals, which is a good thing really, because they are everywhere…more to come soon. 

474. Ashley Road (9)

Aspire sprayed this a little while ago, and within a very short space of time, a rather ‘jobsworth’ enforcement notice went up over the top of it. Some people are really stupid, or don’t really care, but when you look at the whole scene I know which bit I consider ugly and which out of place.

Aspire, Ashley Road, Bristol, September 2016
Aspire, Ashley Road, Bristol, September 2016
Aspire continues on his run of fantastic bird art for the citizens of Bristol. We are lucky to say the least.

Aspire, Ashley Road, Bristol, September 2016
Aspire, Ashley Road, Bristol, September 2016

473. Hawley Street (1), Camden

Continuing for a little while with my Camden adventure, just around the corner, from the Fanakapan flies was this amazing rhinoceros by Osch. Both Osch and Fanakapan are unbelievably prolific. Hardly a week goes by without one or both of them creating something new.

Osch, Hawley Street, Camden, September 2016
Osch, Hawley Street, Camden, September 2016

In this piece, Osch uses his unfurling ribbon style to create the illusion of a solid creature, which is clever as painting itself could be considered to be an illusion. Layers. The rhino is superb, and reminds us (it’s function) about the plight of these creatures in the wild.

Osch, Hawley Street, Camden, September 2016
Osch, Hawley Street, Camden, September 2016

Rounding off the picture, and something that is a part of photographing street art, is the context of the piece, and in this particular piece there are some discarded flower pots that somehow add to the whole scene. A street art photographer’s dilemma is always to balance the perfect clean image, with the actual image in its context. I, like others, try to get both…but parked cars are a real menace!

472. Hawley Mews (1), Camden

  1. These pictures were taken when I had a couple of hours to kill in London after work recently, and I am really pleased with the ground I managed to cover in Camden. Although my sister went to school nearby, and I often drove through the area in my younger days, I haven’t been back for years.
Fanakapan, Hawley Mews, Camden, September 2016
Fanakapan, Hawley Mews, Camden, September 2016

I knew that the area is a favourite for street artists and graffiti artists, but I had no idea about the layout of the streets or what could be found where, so I just started to wander – my favourite thing.

Fanakapan, Hawley Mews, Camden, September 2016
Fanakapan, Hawley Mews, Camden, September 2016

I eventually happened upon this incredible mews, running parallel with one of the busier streets, but hidden away (note – always seek out alley ways and back streets). The reward for my explorations was this magnificent Fanakapan mural of flies (of course the helium balloon type).

Fanakapan, Hawley Mews, Camden, September 2016
Fanakapan, Hawley Mews, Camden, September 2016

This work is exceptional, not only the flies, but the perspective on the walls and shadows cast. A masterpiece and a privilege to find it and photograph it. There were loads of other pieces in this mews and I will in time post about them too.

Fanakapan, Hawley Mews, Camden, September 2016
Fanakapan, Hawley Mews, Camden, September 2016

471. Dean Lane skate park (25)

I haven’t seen any work by this artist before or since I took this photograph. His name is Rusk (or Rusk 1 or One_rusk on Instagram), and this piece is really rather Summery, even though it was sprayed in September this year. We did actually have a nice September.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2016
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2016

The piece didn’t last long, as nothing does at Dean Lane, but it will remain in my memory, because of its unique subject matter, and also the fact that I don’t know the artist at all. Maybe I will start spotting more of his work as I look around, I hope so.

470. West Street (1)

I have been aware of this wonderful Andy Council horse for some time now, but was never quite sure where it was. I actually found it when taking pictures of some other works from Upfest that were a bit of a trek away from the main drag.

Andy Council, West Street, Bristol, September 2016
Andy Council, West Street, Bristol, September 2016
Andy Council is a favourite son of Bristol, and has produced countless murals around the city, many of which remain in place after several years. The distinctive style of blending architectural and urban features (such as the Clifton suspension bridge) with biological form to create his animals is unmistakable and really interesting. One can spend a long time studying all the little details that make up the whole.

Andy Council, West Street, Bristol, September 2016
Andy Council, West Street, Bristol, September 2016