Tag Archives: Above

And great street art goes…..

Following on from the recent post about great new street art appearing in Shoreditch in which we hailed the return of illegal art to an old stencil hall of fame, at the other end of the cycle we celebrate the life of a top quality illegal piece of street art which passed on a couple of days ago.

Above created this breakdancer back in the Summer, yup – we did have one this year and someone, presumably the building owner, had covered it in Perspex within a couple of days.  This is what it looked like at night when the perfection of its placement was apparent.

Shoredtich,London,Street Art,TOurs,Alternative

Above (NY) – Night TIme Break Dancer

Perspex on a piece of street art suggests either that a piece is being preserved for sale or that it is being “conserved”, protected from the rough and tumble of a normal healthy outdoor life.  Usually we infer the former.  Persons unknown expressed their distaste for this kind of curation, or profit preservation – take your pick – and tore most of the perspex off.  Then someone disfigured the piece by chrome spraying an X across the dancer’s body.  Someone else opposed this action by attempting a vigorous cleaning of the chrome off the bricks, looking like an attempt at restoration.  Still with me?

A few days after the clean up started, yesterday in fact, the morning Shoreditch Street Art Tour found that the artwork have been brushed over with a foamy chemical wash.

Above, Shoreditch,London,Street Art,artist,stencil,New York

Above – Chemical wash
Above, Shoreditch,London,Street Art,artist,stencil,New York

Above – foam paint remover

In the afternoon a vigorous buff had been carried out to the point the art was a feint smudge and today there was just a discoloured damp patch where the Above Breakdancer had been.

Above, Shoreditch,London,Street Art,artist,stencil,New York

Above buffed

So there you have it, an excellent piece of work lived its life to the full and to a natural conclusion.  Thankfully most street artists are pretty resilient types and aren’t deterred by a bit of buffing.  Where one piece is buffed, five new pieces will rise up to take its place and Mobstr’s High Five remains undisturbed!

all photos: NoLionsInEngland