Monthly Archives: October 2016

WRDSMTH Comforts Girl With 2 Roses On Her Arse

“Liam cheered up Cheryl” according to the headline in a free newspaper in London this morning and it wasn’t how you think! Popular Holywood street artist Wrdsmth’s large paste up declaration of brimming love suppressed was how singer Liam Payne visiting Las Vegas chose to express to Cheryl how he was missing her back in London.

London, Shoreditch, Street art, artists, guided tour, walk, One Direction, Cheryl, Liam, arse, tattoo, paste up, Las Vegas

The Metro, 26 Oct 16

If you are from the wrong generation or country you may not be aware that Liam is Liam Payne from pop band One Direction and therefore pretty important in this country. Cheryl is sooo mega important that she doesn’t even need a surname though the paper does see fit to keep us abreast of her derriere, which apparently sports a couple of tattoos (photo awaited).

WRDSMTH’s uplifting and oft romantic bon mots have been a pleasure to discover many times in London, as we mentioned just a few months ago.

London, Shoreditch, Street art, artists, guided tour, walk, One Direction, Cheryl, Liam, arse, tattoo, paste up, Las Vegas, Wrdsmth

WRDSMTH, London Phone box, Summer 2015

Liam needn’t have gone to Las Vegas to find WRDSMTH ’s articulation of Liam’s tongue-tied romantic word bloc, for WRDSMTH has already put the same message up in London.

Photo: WRDSMTH

Photo credit: WRDSMTH

Here is another one that Liam could have used to woo singer, tv personality and serial wedding bride Cheryl if only he had taken the Shoreditch Street Art Tour:

London, Shoreditch, Street art, artists, guided tour, walk, Wrdsmth, paste up,

WRDSMTH, 2015

Thanks to our wonderful guide Esther for letting me know as I returned to the UK this morning that despite refugee camps and airport expansions, British newspapers were still giving the real news the exposure it merits.

Photos: Dave Stuart except WRDSMTH and courtesy The Metro where noted

Street Art Book Launch This Sat

What has New York street art got to do with Shoreditch? Well loads actually, as New York is essentially the birthplace of graffiti who’s travelling mutant offspring led to Shoreditch becoming the spiritual home of street art.

D*Face in NY, photo by Luna Park

New York hosts a glorious city-wide panorama of ever changing street art and graffiti and in my opinion its foremost photographic recorder is Katherine Lorimer, known to many as Luna Park.

Vermibus (Fr) by Luna Park

For close to a decade since I discovered her photographs on Flickr, Luna Park’s coverage of the New York street art and graffiti scene has been a daily “must see” for me. Luna has (at last!) produced a photography book covering the full range of New York’s street art and graffiti scene. Across 192 pages of lush exciting goodness, Luna’s taste in street art and graffiti will ensure that this book contains the very very best New York has witnessed over the past decade or more and will be beautifully photographed and laid out.

welded iron graffiti, Shiesta, by Luna Park

Katherine’s book launches this Saturday, October 22nd in New York with a launch event hosted at 17 Frost Gallery in parallel with a 10th anniversary showcase for Ad Hoc Gallery. NY readers should definitely make this a “don’t miss” event in their diary.

Sheryo Yok by Luna Park

Folks from other parts of the world may have to satisfy themselves with obtaining a copy from their favourite book store but if you are a lover of street art, don’t miss out on this book.

WK INteract by Luna Park

I have taken the liberty of linking to a few of Luna Park’s recent photos from her Flickr account, not from the book.

Book Launch Details:

Date: October 22^nd,6pm – 11pm

Location: Frost Gallery, 17 Frost St, Brooklyn, NY 11211, United States

A little “PS” – the Ad Hoc show should be worth seeing, Garrison Buxton, the guy behind Ad Hoc Gallery which in those days had a physical presence as one of NY’s leading urban art galleries had an exhibition in London’s Pure Evil Gallery in 2008. I recall Garrison had firm views on the need for street art to take a political stance. This show at 17 Frost sounds like it should be interesting, another reason to go!

Stik’s New Shoreditch Mural

Shoreditch based street art Stik was beavering away on a new mural in Old Street for 4 days up until last Sunday. At times the elements were not in his favour but he gritted his teeth and ploughed on. Several of our tour groups last week and over the weekend had the pleasure of chatting with Stik as he took short breaks from his painting to come and check on how his characters looked from street level.

Just a few days after finishing his landmark painting, a short film has come out following Stik in the build up to this mural in which he seeks to establish a community context for his painting. It is a fascinating painting with a fascinating story.