Control Alt Delete
key strokes that initiate
computer bedtime.
by Scooj
Tag: UK
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Standing room only
.
Standing room only
too polite to turf sleeping
girl out of my seat.
.
by Scooj
This is no way to spend a Sunday night
.
On the train again
destination Vauxhall and
some boxy hotel.
.
by Scooj
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.
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.
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.
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!
