Street Art

[booze and cake]

Thanks @woodenspoons, there's some good stuff there. I'm a big fan of Ron English and have a few of his pics at home.

Here's a colourful abstract work in Selhurst.

The direction the sun is shining on this in Shoreditch makes the character look even more shifty, as they lurk in the shadows.

This next one is another one of Dreph's series on immigration and is located in Wardour St, Soho. It features Fatima Najm, here's an exert from the link below explaining more.".......Human Rights activist Fatima Najm, founder of Creatives Against Poverty (CAP)...... She now lives in London and has spent the last 11 years supporting marginalised communities across the globe including Asia, Africa, Europe and North America, in some of the world’s most harrowing conflict, disaster or urban poverty zones.

She trains NGO's working with war-ravaged communities to deal with frustrations, drawing out resentment to move towards creating a conflict-free community. When the CAP team finds themselves dealing with trauma in chaotic or dangerous environments, they use comedy, theatre, music and art to disarm the resistance they encounter.

In London, Fatima sits on the education panel at the Prince’s Trust, advising the organisation on programs that inspire young people to unlock their potential. Fatima also works with grassroots NGO's to help refugees and asylum seekers acquire the skills they need to integrate into British society." http://dreph.co.uk/migration-series/

What a thoroughly good egg, I love how Dreph's work highlights the work of unsung heroes like Fatima.
And here's a Beauty and Beast scene in Leake St.

 

[booze and cake]

The 4 famous lions that surround Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square have been joined by a newcomer. Its an installation called 'please feed the lions', and members of the public are invited to submit words on a keypad at the side of the lion, or online, and an algorithm generates poems from the words submitted. At night the poems will be projected onto Nelson's Column. More info here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-45560794

 

[Reynard]

That's really rather cool... Curious about the quality of the poetry generated by the algorithm, though.

 

[booze and cake]

Readers of the Metro would have seen the following story on Monday. Local residents helped by some anonymous street artists, created a load of street signs and even drew a drug dealer only parking bay, to highlight the ongoing and unchecked heroin and crack dealing going on in a particular street in E2.
https://metro.co.uk/2018/09/17/resi...n-7952447/?ito=article.desktop.share.top.link
Well that is right up my street, not the heroin or crack, or my actual street, but the artwork. The article does not name the road in question, and despite a number of pics there are no signs visible, and I didn't recognise it from my extensive Shoreditch roaming. Not a problem for my inner Columbo. Of the pictures in the Metro link, you see the one with the rat-dog standing in the parking bay, well I found another link which shows that picture in full, and it does contain a street name, Chambord St, Bingo! I did laugh at the pic at how the dogs owner is being very careful not to be in the bay. Link here: http://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-loc...zones-to-force-police-to-take-action-20180918

Armed with that info I headed over there after work today, but was surprised to see all the signs had gone, even the painted parking bay was just a faint white smudge. Sorry, no pics but there was nothing to photograph.

I guess its possible that the artists removed the signs after taking the pics, getting in the press and making their point, but I doubt it. Not so soon, as it apparently only went up on Sunday night. It smacks more to me of a dedicated clean up team has been along to erase the embarrassment and sprained feelings for the local police force and council. Have you ever seen a council move so fast? Normally glacial in pace, when their name is muddied they appear to be able to overcome budget shortfalls and spring into action really fast, funny that.

This really grinds my gears. OK I did not expect them to last long term. I'm sure its illegal to create signs in a style that imitates, and is posing as existing council signage. But I find it particularly grating that they deem their removal as a higher priority than dealing with open crack and heroin dealing, for which nothing has been done to date despite numerous reports, and this is all happening literally a stones throw away from Bethnal Green Academy for 11-19 year olds. I'm sure the council and police will reluctantly make grumbling noises, make budget cut groans and propose something now its been in the press, but only now its been in the press. This short term, re-active only, cover your back, attack the messenger approach is just Trump-esque in its selfishness, and both council and police come out looking bad. #rant

Anyway I contacted the Metro journo to say I was there today, and all signs and painted bays were already gone. She emailed me back to say she's received lots of comments from locals about drug dealing in the area, so she is working on a follow up story, and she'll try and find out why and who removed it. I'll keep my eyes peeled for the follow up, and see how long it takes the council and police to suggest their proposals to address the real issue. Maybe we can get the graffiti clean up team to do the drug busts, they are obviously well funded and able to react quickly.
Local Authorities drive people to drink, luckily I saw one on the way home.

And around Hanbury St and Pedley St are some new ones. First up a series of birds being controlled by some strange goblin type characters.

Another by the prolific Woskerski, I've not seen his punk balloon teddy bear image since the early pages of this thread, the large one in Penge is still there.

And this is very good, on Hanbury St, loving how they've used every inch of crumbling wall. By BK Foxx.

 

[Reynard]

That last one (portrait) is absolutely amazing...

Shame about the other stuff though.

 

[booze and cake]

Flying into the weekend

 

[booze and cake]

More birds, this time in Camden. Strangely I feel better for the parrots that I photographed this in today's glorious sunshine, rather than the months of grey skies we have ahead, of which they wouldn't approve.

 

[booze and cake]

After a tip-off from fellow wanderer and photographer, Fiona the flaneuse, who you may remember gave us loads of lovely pics from her amblings in Porto, I headed over to search for a work allegedly off an already forgotten side street off Brick Lane. Its a bit of a maze of one way systems so I criss-crossed around the area, but couldn't find the one I was looking for, bah.

Luckily there is always something new in the area so I didn't come back empty handed. From bah to baaa, another of the series of part mechanical animals, this time a ram. Obviously from a time before battery rams

Here we have Jacob Rees-Mogg done out as the evil baddy from the Harry Potter series, Voldemort.

I'm guessing this is technically treasonous.

A nice sunshine illuminated portrait in a doorway on Brick Lane.

And on my way back I passed through Leake Street, and got this eye watering tie-dye number.

 

[booze and cake]

Back on page 32 I posted a link about the successful fight by the people of Glasgow, to allow the Duke of Wellington statue in the city centre to retain the hat the locals prefer, that is an orange traffic cone. Link here: https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/travel/glasgows-duke-wellington-statue-allowed-keep-cone/

'Coneheid' as he if affectionately known by locals was listed in the top 10 most bizarre monuments in the world by the Lonely Planet Guide.
I shared the original link with a friend in Glasgow called Alice, asking if she could get a photograph, and she's aced it.

And not only that, after what must have been a wild night out, we also have a 'multi coneheid'. They both look very smart and matchy-matchy now the dobbin has one too.

Alice has also recently been to Berkley, Oakland in the USA, and at the edge of Allston Way on the edge of Strawberry Creek Park, which sounds so American it could be straight out a Tom Sawyer adventure, is this anatomy one, the likes of which I've not seen before. Thanks Alice

The closest we've had is some eyeballs, and I saw some more of them recently.

 

[booze and cake]

After my failed attempt to find the piece Fiona mentioned above, she kindly sent me the pic, thanks Fi. Have some pity for all the work droids that were back to the misery of the commute this Monday morning.

And these next two I saw today, in Old St and Clerkenwell respectively.

 

[jiberjaber]

Had a cracking ride through London on Saturday morning, very cold but spent a good hour around Brick Lane hunting street art - tbf, it is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel but I was disappointed by how much has been tagged over by others. Took loads of pictures, there all on here: https://www.strava.com/activities/1872512037


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BoU_bnSF-jl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link



View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUjfOllOQd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link


I think this is probably one of my favs, S&B's butcher girl creeping up on the pig of bacon street!


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUedMfFIYl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link


And I had a good chuckle at this:

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUoQ35lAri/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link



Also drove back through SE London on Sunday night and through a load of good stuff around Honour Oak Park

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BoXjCpgFAhj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link


I really wish I had my SLR with me but that's not compatible with riding the bike unfortunately.

 

[booze and cake]

Excellent again @jiberjaber, quite a ride, and from the pics that looked an early start, and what looked like frost?!

Its funny how looking at the same works through different eyes can see different things. I got the pig on Bacon St way back in the first few pages of this thread, and have passed it numerous times since, and though I noticed the woman, I never twigged until your post that she had a meat cleaver and butchers apron and appeared to be sneaking up on piggy.

And your pic of the one in Honor Oak Park which you tagged #frommycarwindow, is immediately round the corner from the mushrooms I got from page 32, amusingly this is the only one of mine taken from a car, my friend took it hanging out of the passenger window as I drove past

I was passing through Brick Lane myself this afternoon, and there was a newly finished work on the side of Kinkao that looks like it was by the same person that did the gorilla in Penge I photographed recently.

 

[booze and cake]

I was in Camden this afternoon and came across this little assortment.

I didn't recognise the character in this, but a quick google reveals all. Its from before my time, and should read Mrs Shufflewick not Miss Shufflewick, a famous comedy drag act that toured the land. More info here on a very colourful life:
https://www.chortle.co.uk/features/2013/11/06/18999/he_was_the_comedian_that_comedians_wanted_to_be

Some old boots.

And finally a new Dan Kitchener, who's work I always marvel at.

 

[Randomnerd]

Marvellous update. The Kitchener work is superb. Do you ever get interested in how the work is made / get pics of the work being done? Would be brilliant to see the process. Thanks, as ever, for posting @booze and cake

 

[booze and cake]

Thanks @woodenspoons, I've come across a few artists and seen works progress over the course of a few days, but I've always just been passing and never had the time to stay and watch it all unfold, I'd love to though.

I look at ones like the Dan Kitchener one, so many colours, amazing light, with so much going on, and wonder how does it even start.....Well as it happens, look what I just found. I'm still in awe, up close it looks so much harder to see the big picture, but he obviously just knows how its going to look.