Me and my pizza,
the chef, waiter and bar girl;
empty restaurant.
by Scooj
Tag: London
Undone
Seventh to ground
breakfast and back to seventh
horror…flies undone!
by Scooj
City food
Wonderful smells drift
in and out of the street stalls
selling World cuisine.
by Scooj
Son
He will not know the
sadness I feel as I hug
him and wave goodbye.
by Scooj
337. Leake Street tunnel, London (3)
Everything was unexpected when I visited Leake Street Tunnel recently, not least the large number of new pieces that had been created as part of the #do1cancer campaign. It would have been easy to overlook some of the other works that had been in the tunnel…except, I find it hard to overlook anything.
Having reached the end of the tunnel, I returned the way I came – it is funny how you see different things when you go in the opposite direction. High on the ceiling was this wonderful face by Hannah Adamaszek, who I have featured a couple of times recently.
There are two notable things about this work: the first is that it must have been very awkward to do…neck-breaking; the second is that depending on where you stand, the face takes on very different appearances. More great work from Hannah, who I am expecting to see at Upfest.
London lunch
Smoked salmon and cream
cheese sandwiches enjoyed with
views of the river.
By Scooj
329. Blackstock Road, London (1)
As regular readers will know by now, I have recently taken on a new job for six months which involves being in my native London two days a week. This week, instead of staying in a lonely sad hotel, I stayed with my lovely sister and family in Stoke Newington. Ever the opportunist, I realised that this would afford me an opportunity to snap some London street art. Hurrah! This is between Finsbury Park station and my sister’s house.
This is a spectacular mural by a Sao Paulo-based artist ‘Muretz’ (Mauro Golin), which was painted when on a flying visit back in March this year. There is more about this and one other work on the excellent London Calling blog. I cannot hope to cover London works in the incredible way that London Calling does, so I won’t try to duplicate.
I think that one can predict Brazilian artists will feature skeletons in some of their work, as death is celebrated in a way quite different to the somber conventional ways in the ‘West’. I love this. It is witty and simple. A bit like Stik meets Banksy…or something. I love the way the character appears to be sitting on the steps of the house.
This is a lovely work, and I feel thrilled at coming across it. On a slightly off-topic note, I wonder if the Green Grocer is always open…the sign would suggest it is.
The tube
Empty expressions
sad pale figures lined up like
lambs to the slaughter.
by Scooj
317. Leake Street tunnel, London (2)
I think that most of the posts about the pieces I photographed in Leake Street on 4 July 2016 are going to be quite short. I say this because I am having difficulty researching the artists, and it is a world unfamiliar to me. I guess also, because I have a Bristol bias, I am lazier about finding out more about London-based artists. Is that a bad thing?
This rather charmingly grotesque piece is by Woskerski – I would guess a Polish immigrant, who like all Europeans, is most welcome in our country. I cannot express my shame at what our nation has decided to do, and how some sectors of our society think it is ok to behave in the way they have since the referendum. I will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Europe and seek greater integration, collaboration and understanding.
The piece was sprayed as part of the #do1cancer campaign to raise awareness and money for Colchester Hospitals Charity.
315. Leake Street tunnel, London (1)
Serendipity.
Fortune favours those who go in pursuit of dreams (or something like that). My new role took me to London Earlier this week, and I spent a night in an hotel in Vauxhall. I don’t know much about the street art scene in London, other than that there is a lot in Shoreditch and in Camden Town. I keep a close eye on the London Calling blog to keep pace with the astonishing stuff that hits the streets of London.
I had heard about a tunnel in Waterloo that had loads of street art in it, so I went off in search of it. It took a while to find, because I didn’t really know what I was looking for, but find it I did, and I was staggered. Here were dozens of works on the walls and ceilings along the entire length of the tunnel. Aladdin’s Cave, no messing.
I was in for even more luck – my trip coincided with a very recent festival that had been held (at the weekend?) in support of raising funds for the #do1cancer graffiti jam. The walls were festooned with fresh pieces with a cancer theme. This is the first of my posts from Monday 4 July. Please read the link above, as it puts this festival into context.
This extraordinary piece is by Gnasher (David Nash), who uses spray cans to produce hyper-real art – just amazing. This piece looks like an enormous blow up of a photograph. Big respect indeed.
You can find out more about this incredible artist from his excellent website. Together, the #do1cancer campaign has raised awareness of how cancer can impact on our lives, and is actively raising money through the support of graffiti artists and graffiti enthusiasts. Admirable stuff.
Natural adventures 