Tag: Shoreditch

1970. Shoreditch, London (22)

Wow, wow, wow. Fancy having an enormous portrait of Salvador Dali painted outside your premises. I mean, this is just amazing work from the wonderful Zabou. Everything about this piece is in my mind perfect… the subject, the monochrome face, the dazzling leopard spot design jacket, the melting watch. This is a masterful piece and Salvador himself would I’m sure be smiling down on Zabou.

Zabou, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Zabou, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

For me, this is what it’s all about, what I do and why I do it. Wandering around the streets without any plan and chancing upon things I didn’t know were there. A voyage of discovery and pleasant surprises. Finding this was a highlight of my sauntering around Shoreditch last November.

1969. Shoreditch, London (21)

Now living and working in London, Xenz used to live in Bristol and there are plenty of his pieces documented in Natural Adventures, and more to come. This is the first of his works that I have seen outside Bristol and it is a bit of a cracker.

Xenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Xenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

These boards are really fabulous and a magnet for some seriously classy street art. This piece showcases one of Xenz’s favoured themes, a sort of futuristic ruin scene set against moody skies.

Xenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Xenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

Of course none of his works are complete without some little birds, these look like bee eaters to me. Dramatic and fantastical work.

1968. Shoreditch, London (20)

Aah, another fabulous piece by Nether410. As a tourist in these parts, I know little of the piece other than what is on Nether410’s Instagram feed. He says the portrait is of Carol Burns of Bacon Street and that this is the site of her and her father’s business.

Nether410, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Nether410, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

This is an amazing portrait, unsentimental in its portrayal of the subject. There is a story being told here as well, with the key and the keyhole, but I don’t know what it is about. A fine piece.

1967. Shoreditch, London (19)

Quickly skipping back to November last year, the next few posts will feature pieces I saw on a mini excursion to Shoreditch in London, kicking off with this incredible piece by Mr Cenz. I have seen a lot of his work over the last year or two, but only a few in the flesh, and the pictures rarely do them justice. His style pretty much always incorporates a female portrait composed of swirling vibrant shades of colour, which when you think about it, shouldn’t really work, but oh my goodness, work they do!

Mr Cenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Mr Cenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

A piece like this is just so magnificent and elevates the building it is painted on from being ordinary to being extraordinary. I would surely love to see him visit Bristol.

1946. Shoreditch, London (18)

Ok, ok I hear you, I should have posted this last year, but I didn’t right? so I am doing it now. Continuing on the theme of trawling through archives, I found this piece by Bonzai from a trip to Shoreditch back in February 2018, but hadn’t made the connection to the piece I posted by Bonzai from my more recent visit in November.

Bonzai, Shoreditch, London, February 2018
Bonzai, Shoreditch, London, February 2018

These pictures are a bit rubbish for two reasons. I had dropped and broken my camera about five minutes earlier and so had to use my iPhone and the road was rather busy, and I couldn’t get out far enough (without risk of death) to catch the whole piece. Maybe this is why I never posted it first time round. It is a great piece though…that melting chrome look is stunning.

1937. Shoreditch, London (17)

My fondest discovery from my November trip to Shoreditch was dozens of these unusual and fabulous wheatpastes by Sten and Oli. There were so many, that they will keep me busy for some time to come. These paste ups were the first three I found by this talented partnership.

A monkey skeleton with an Idiot crown…

Sten and Oli, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Sten and Oli, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

A rather sad-looking character mask positioned over a faint portrait…

Sten and Oli, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Sten and Oli, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

A curious rabbit kind of thing with button eyes…

Sten and Oli, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Sten and Oli, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

All three pieces are full of imagination and curiosity. Positioned quite low down on walls, these beautiful wheatpastes are missed by many going about their busy lives. Their loss. Regulars will know that I am a sucker for wheatpastes, and ones such as these tick all my boxes.

1935. Shoreditch, London (15)

The whole idea behind posting pieces from Shoreditch is that I am under no obligation to write too much about the artists, because they are mostly off my radar. I am finding, however, that it is very difficult not to do any research at all. Nether410 is from Baltimore, and it would seem that he had made a recent trip to London and left a few stunning pieces, including this one.

Nether410, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Nether410, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

This piece is a portrait of Charlie Burns who was the founder of the local business here, who I am guessing also had connections to the world of boxing. It is an outstandingly beautiful portrait full of character and expression. Wow…we simply need to get Nether410 to Bristol some time.

1936. Shoreditch, London (16)

I think I timed my November trip to Shoreditch really well as it seemed that there were a whole load of fairly recent pieces, one of which is this extraordinary chrome rabbit underlit with pink light by Fanakapan. Better know for his helium balloon-style paintings, Fanakapan has in this instance gone for a solid chrome piece and shares some techniques with artists such as Bonsai.

Fanakapan, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Fanakapan, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

At first when I saw this I wasn’t entirely sure it was by Fanakapan, because it is a bit different from other pieces I have seen by him. The face of the rabbit is brilliantly worked and as for the neon crown…doers it get any better than this?

1934. Shoreditch, London (14)

A magnificent celebration of the written word by Nomad Clan, depicting a letter and a pigeon, both methods of carrying written messages, to align with the theme of this large wall in Shoreditch on ‘connectivity’.

Nomad Clan, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Nomad Clan, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

I am a huge fan of this talented duo, who have visited Bristol for Upfest in each of the last two years. This is a masterful work with many elements to focus on, but it is the feathers on the right hand side of the piece that I find most appealing…they have such a lightness about them.

Nomad Clan, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Nomad Clan, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

Nomad Clan are known for their big walls and this one is big. Their concepts and ideas are so beautifully illustrated with a softness of tone that many artists appear to struggle with. I was very happy to find this piece.

1933. Shoreditch, London (13)

Bonzai is yet another artist I am unfamiliar with, but what a pleasure it was to discover him for the first time. This was one of two recent pieces, as described by the brilliant London Calling blog.

Bonzai, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Bonzai, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

The effect of molten chrome is simply outstanding, and yet if you look at the piece carefully is reasonably simply constructed with colours that trick your eyes. I absolutely love this kind of work and will definitely be on the look out for more from this artist on future London trips.