Tag Archives: Banksy

Banksy Christmas Press Fest

Two Banksy stories have appeared this weekend in a press suffering from either a severe news shortage or a chronic space surplus.  Although writing about street art is ideally never encumbered by this author’s first person singular perspective, both today’s Banksy stories have a minor and trivial personal resonance.

Jamie Oliver the former boy wonder chef confesses to having thrown away Banksy art given to him as a gift.  Seems that Jamie didn’t think the art would ever be worth anything and didn’t want it hanging on his wall.  Our Shoreditch Street Art Tours actually have their origins in a process that involved Banksy’s connection to Jamie Oliver.

Jamie Oliver the brilliant young chef was a breath of fresh air in the world of TV chefs with his cockney accent presenting shows in a style that bucked the established studio style, catering for mates in his home complete with beer and swearing in some mid terrace house in grungy East London.

Jamie Oliver opened a restaurant in Shoreditch called Fifteen, its laudable and substantially successful objective was to provide training and a springboard to a new career as chefs for young local unemployed and disadvantaged youths let down by conventional education and apprenticeship schemes.  This became the subject of Jamie Oliver’s hit 2002 Channel 4 TV programme “Jamie’s Kitchen”.  Supposedly with encouragement from his celebrity mate, Banksy stencilled some mischievous rats breaking in next door to the restaurant, perhaps as a metaphor for the lucky beneficiaries breaking into an otherwise unobtainable career.

a Pair of rats with a crowbar and a grinder by Banksy

Rats by Banksy, photo Dave Stuart

Jamie and Banksy were a great match, two peas in a pot (sic). Both were young disrupters, both hugely influential, well meaning and cool.  Jamie’s  suggestion that he had no idea Banksy would be worth anything feels perhaps a bit disingenuous given their rumoured connection while framing the timing as being a part of mid to late 90s “Cool Britiannia” is not entirely consistent with Banksy’s first exhibition in Bristol and his relocation to London both occurring in 2000 and the 2002 opening of Fifteen.

The completely tenuous stretch is that I saw these rats on one of the famous Banksy tours led by Martin Bull aka Shellshock back in 2006. The photos of those rats were taken on that infamous tour.

2006 Banksy street art tour looks at stencil rats on Jamie Oliver restuarant

Banksy Tour, 2006. Are you in this photo? Photo Dave Stuart

Martin and his co-researcher Sam remain very close friends, here is the story of how my very first street art tour in 2008 was inspired by those Shellshock Banksy Tours.

Sadly, those rats disappeared long ago. Not the first Banksy Street art to be lost in Shoreditch, check the recent story of Transport for London Overground and their wildly inconsistent removal of the 2024 Banksy monkeys.

What lost Banksy rats look like now

Westland Place – After The Banksy Has Gone

To avoid disrupting their hazy alcoholic Holiday Season schedules, journalists compile year end best of lists around November time.  If the clickbait potential can be ramped up by throwing Banksy in the mix, all the better.   This morning a “best 7 photos of the year” article appeared and right up there was a photo of one of Banksy’s “Zoo escape” pieces accompanied by the “On the spot” commentary.

To recap, over 9 days last Summer Banksy did a new street art stencil somewhere in London.  Many people’s favourite was the amusing lovestruck rhino stencil on an industrial estate service road in Charlton.  Not only can we tell exactly when the photographer landed his snap but I must confess to a minor role in him landing his accolade.

Banksy London Zoo escape lovestruck rhino defaced with corporate branding

Lovestruck Rhino with opportunist branding Photo Dave Stuart

The whole Banksy chasing circus (I blush here) was poised all morning for the daily Banksy Instagram upload.   Yet another cross London bike ride, this one was the furthest from me by a long way, brought me by mid afternoon to the rhino right outside some salvaged metal processing facility.  They had dropped a branded skip in front of the car, covered the wall next to the rhino in their logo and fastened the kind of sash worn in a previous era by beauty contest winners or pageant queens across the front windscreen.  Such shameless self promoting Banksy exploitation is deplorable.  More blushing.

Surprised that no one had taken the initiative, I removed the sash and some of the easier logos from the wall to pats on the back from several present.  Later that afternoon some local writers rolled up and tagged the wall.  The award winning Getty photographer’s snap was taken sometime between the two events.   “Timing is everything” when it comes to Banksy says photographer John Phillips and his certainly benefitted from my purge of the opportunistic advertising.  His photo even suffers from the same sun artefact as mine, see that slight green tinge in the middle right at the top.  Our photos were taken at very similar times.

Banksy London Zoo escape lovestruck rhino defaced with corporate branding

Shoreditch Street Art Tours Removes Branding. Photo Dave Stuart

In case you are wondering, have you ever tried shifting a skip on your own?

All Photos copyright Dave Stuart


Banksy Brick Lane Monkeys Stencils Culled

In a strange and un-expected move Transport for London Overground 2 nights ago removed the Banksy three monkeys art piece from the bridge over Brick Lane where they were stencilled in August of this year.

Banksy Brick Lane monkeys stencil buffed by TfL

Where’s it gone?

The three monkeys were among the menagerie of creatures that escaped from London Zoo in Regents Park and had proved a popular, constantly visited landmark.

Tourists flock to photograph Banmksy Monkeys on Brick Lane

Tourists flock to see Banksy Brick Lane Monkeys

Banksy being "Buffed" by TfL contractors.  Photo by Anna Molony

Banksy being “Buffed”. Photo by Anna Molony

Back in September we pondered the longevity of the 9 Banksy artworks.  The Pirahna tank was grabbed by the Corporation of London and displayed in the Guildhall; an advertising billboard company said “That’s on our property” about the stretching wildcat and promptly removed it “For safety reasons”, location currently unknown; London Zoo removed their stencilled shutter and replaced it with a vinyl reproduction; the Peckham wolf  and the horny rhino in Charlton were both stolen, now the only ones that remain in their original locations are the Kew Bridge Ibex, the Chelsea elephants and the Walthamstow chipshop pelicans though all have to some degree been either protected and/or restored.   The Brick Lane Monkeys is the only one actually buffed.

Pirahna Fish Tank, Banksy, 11th Aug 2024, City of London

Banksy is possibly the best known and most popular contemporary artist in the world.  This cleansing is sadly an act of art desecration of the worst kind.  It demonstrates the poverty of regard held by corporations and authorities for art in this country.  While this art form has ephemerality at its core, if this artwork had been in the National Gallery (thank god it isn’t) and had a bowl of soup lobbed at it the establishment would be horrified and the press would be engaged in a witchhunt.

During lockdown Banksy created a piece of art inside a TfL tube train which was promptly cleaned the same day, TfL issued a statement saying that this was consistent with their “strict anti graffiti policy”, though that policy would appear to be “strictly flexible” as the Nathan Bowen character and sundry other un-authorised marks have been left intact on the bridge, just the Banksy was buffed.

Banksy removed from TfL Overground Bridge, other tags and art fine

“TfL Overground in massive Nathan Bowen endorsement!”

About 100 metres from the Banksy monkeys, the very same concrete structure carrying the same line has for about 6 years been the site for of some of the best graffiti and street art painted in London with the consent of the same property owner by artists.  Why did they have to destroy this Banksy when it was on the same structure?   It defies logic.

artists painting TfL Overground property with permisssion

WOM Collective enjoy an art painting jam on the same structure as the now removed Banksy Monkeys, March 2024

I have asked Transport for London for an explanation for this wanton act of corporate philistine behaviour but expect it will take several weeks to get a reply.

You don’t mask you don’t get – Banksy, 2020


Banksy Street Art Zoo Breakout

London has been been blessed with new Banksy street art creation every day for the past 9 days.   Call it the urban jungle, the Banksy zoo, the London Banksy safari, whatever you like, Banksy has treated London to a version of his notorious October 2013 Better Out Than In 30 day New York residency.  Fans and media had been baffled by a daily expanding menagerie of animals scattered across London but with the 9th and final creation, a gorilla orchestrating a mass breakout through a shutter on London Zoo, see above, the story acquired coherence.

Mountain Ibex, Banksy, 5th Aug, Kew Bridge

All images Dave Stuart except where noted

The first stencil showed a precariously balanced Mountain IBEX on a crumbling buttress, the Banksy magic being present in the placement, the imaginative use of the building structure, the comic surrealism of this happening in barely above sea level Kew and the perennial intrigue of how did he do it.  Release of CCTV footage from that camera on the wall gave us a big insight into Banksy’s use of a cherry picker.  By the way, the CCTV camera position in the photo below is after it was reset by the building occupants.

Mountain Ibex, Banksy, 5th Aug, Kew Bridge

Then a pair of elephants reaching out to each other arrived the next day in Chelsea.  Curiously the painting technique in the first two images was uncharacteristically flat though some uninvited collaborator has since sorted that by giving the elephants some white stripes (not witnessed through my lens yet!)

Elephants in Chelsea. Banksy, 6th Aug 2024

 

Elephants in Chelsea. Banksy, 6th Aug 2024

All this excitement occurred 3 years to the week since Banksy took his post lockdown Spraycation to East Anglia in 2021, perhaps it’s the time Banksy books for his holidays, or could it be it’s the rest of the year is holiday and this is when he clocks on for work?

Next day came three monkeys swinging across a bridge in Brick Lane spraypainted with variations in the paintwork giving a more typical Banksy detail.   Brick Lane is swinging, so are the monkeys into the trees, amazing placement and it seems he must have set up fake bridge repairs in the middle of Brick Lane to use that cherrypicker again, wow.

Three Wise Monkeys, Banksy, 7th Aug 2024, Brick Lane

Three Wise Monkeys night manoeuvres, Banksy, 7th Aug 2024, Brick Lane

Day 4, a howling wolf in Peckham silhouetted against a full moon was stolen within a couple of hours, much like the STOP sign Banksy subverted in Peckham last year.   The image of the wolf howling to a full moon really required night time viewing, thanks to those opportunist thieves the world has only Banksy’s own photos to enjoy that effect to the full.  Sometimes it seems Banksy likes having the only photos (London 2012 Olympics javelin thrower, “Morning Is Broken”, Herne Bay 2023).

Howling Wolf, Banksy, 8th Aug 2024, Peckham. Photo: courtesy Banksy.co.uk

A long haul on the bike out to Walthamstow was required on day 5 to locate a pair of pelicans eating the fish from a chip shop sign.  Witty subversion is the takeaway (boom boom).

Fish Supper, Banksy, 9th Aug 2024, Walthamstow

The Cricklewood Cat painted on a damaged disused billboard developed into a rather interesting story with the piece firstly being attacked by a member of the public with a hammer, then a contractor turning up to remove the billboard on behalf of the owner was blocked by people sequestering his ladder turning into a real “we shall not, we shall not be moved” standoff ended by 4 police cars and a riot van!   No longer on the streets.

Stretching Cat, Banksy, 13th Aug 2024, Cricklewood

Stretching Cat (do not remove), Banksy, 13th Aug 2024, Cricklewood

Placing Xs on a map of London where Banksy had now done his stencils made it easy to speculate that the 7th and supposedly final one according to the Guardian, would be either central or in deep South East London.  Sure enough, right in the heart of the City of London financial district a fish tank of piranhas appeared using a hitherto unseen mixed painting technique.  The illusion of a fish filled tank was superb and the technique, unlike the tank, remains unclear.  This lasted 2 days before being purloined and rehoused by the City Of London Corporation aka the council, this can at time of writing be seen in Guildhall Yard, City of London.

Piranha Fish Tank, Banksy, 11th Aug 2024, City of London

The placement on police property was deliciously provocative and the preservation of this art gives Banksy a previously unimaginable privilege of police protection, what’s the opposite of “Most wanted”?

Piranha Fish Tank, Banksy, 11th Aug 2024, City of London

After knowing press reports that there would be just 7 images, it was a surprise and yet perhaps no surprise – never impose your expectations on Banksy – when reports of an 8th surfaced on Monday 12th August.  On an industrial estate in Charlton, deepest South East London a rhino has literally and metaphorically got the horn for a grey car with a cone on the bonnet.   This was so cleverly staged with the rear wheels of the jalopy deflated so the car appears to be buckling under the weight of the amorous mount.  Defaced early evening of 12th and at time of writing on 13th rumours are that the car has been towed/stolen (delete according to your conspiracy appetite).

Lovestruck Rhino, Banksy. 12th Aug 2024, Charlton

The final London Zoo piece brought the threads of the story together and authoritatively put the lid on some of the wilder ruminations on meaning.  The king of the jungle, itself perhaps an allegorical reference to Banksy, lifts the zoo shutter allowing a sea lion and an assorted birds including a humming bird and a bird of paradise to escape while unidentified creatures peer out on freedom.

London Zoo Breakout, Banksy, 13th Aug 2024

The Zoo has taken its lead from the line put out by the media at the weekend that Banksy’s whole point was simply to cheer people up, certainly zoo staff were all very positive about their Banksy Great Escape. Staff advised that their stock take is done in January which may mean escapees have a considerable time before they will be missed, the zoo does have baby gorillas but a request they be brought out for the photo op was declined, it seemed the humans didn’t want the competition.

London Zoological Society: Animals, Cages and a gorilla by Banksy, 13th Aug 2024

The idea of animals in captivity orchestrating their escape certainly has potential for a darker and more Banksy-esque interpretation. The artwork includes a nice nod to his 2006 Camden Maid aka “Sweeping it under the carpet” painted in nearby Chalk Farm.

“Sweeping It Under The Carpet”, Banksy, 2006 (after council repair)

If this is to be the last then London won’t have numerically matched the 29 street art pieces Banksy blessed New York with in 2013 but in terms of the coherence of the theme and to pull that off across 9 street art pieces without missing a beat is an amazing achievement.

It is also evident that CCTV no longer holds the terror for street artists that it may have done 20 years ago with several of Banksy’s pieces being done in the full beady gaze of the CCTV camera.  Indeed in the case of the Ibex goat the word from the property owner is that the CCTC captured Banksy repositioning the camera to face directly at the goat, so the camera is component of the artwork.

I-Spy something beginning with B, City Of London, 11th Aug

Watching the cheeky monkey, London Zoo, 13th Aug 2024

Is this zoo animal themed street exhibition done?  Would it be a surprise if that escaping sea lion turned up on the nearby Regents Canal?  Banksy certainly knows a few spots along there.

Three Wise Monkeys, Banksy, 7th Aug 2024, Brick Lane

Stretching Cat, Banksy, 13th Aug 2024, Cricklewood

Stretching Cat, Banksy, 13th Aug 2024, Cricklewood

Fish Supper, Banksy, 9th Aug 2024, Walthamstow

Three Wise Monkeys and some pigeons, Banksy, 7th Aug 20224, Brick Lane

Elephants in Chelsea. Banksy, 6th Aug 20242

Piranha Fish Tank, Banksy, 11th Aug 2024, City of London

Fish Supper, Banksy, 9th Aug 2024, Walthamstow

All images Dave Stuart except where noted

 


New Banksy stencil of a man spraying tree on a street in North London

Banksy Imitates Nature

Spring is sprung and Banksy welcomes the freshest season with some fresh street art.  Last Spring it  was Valentines Day Mascara in Southend, this year a hibernating tree bursts into life with a vigorous new canopy of green foliage thanks to a gardener armed with a garden sprayer.

New Banksy stencil of a man spraying tree on a street in North London

Banksy Tree March 2024

It can be interpreted new life, new growth and rebirth is possible even in this most urban and densely populated of North London Locations, or maybe it suggests a resident is fed up that the tree has been so brutally pollarded by the council, pollarding being a routine annual exercise for public trees in these parts.  News of this new piece emerged on Sunday 17th of March so perhaps there is even a nod towards the St Paddy’s day celebrations.

New Banksy stencil of a man spraying tree on a street in North London

scene of the crime

The character holding the garden sprayer is stencilled in a very recognisable Banksy light-dark two tone style.  Evidently in his desire to get as much greenery up as possible the gardener has covered himself in paint.   The green of the foliage is a slightly different hue to that used in the character and also different to the green used to give solidity to the sprayer rod, so three different shades of green altogether.

New Banksy stencil of a man spraying tree on a street in North London

“I did that”

New Banksy stencil of a man spraying tree on a street in North London

3 greens in detail

Much of the reportage suggests that Banksy has used a fire extinguisher to paint the foliage.  He has critiqued the cultural institution Festival Hall by spraying BORING with a fire extinguisher, flown an extinguisher paint powered Love Plane in Liverpool and in his intrusion into Cromer’s model village in 2022 he cutely simulated fire extinguisher graff at miniature scale so Banksy is not lacking experience with that tool.  However, a fire extinguisher generally produces a lot more splatter and a haze of colour around the impact areas.  The dripping and the controlled arcs of green, particularly where the paint reaches over the wall to the left, suggest Banksy may have used the type of hand pressurised sprayer he is seen deploying in his “You don’t mask you don’t get” 2020 post lockdown tube cleaning video, the paint effect is then consistent with the garden sprayer the character is depicted holding.  The density of the paint in some areas and the really heavy drips could also suggest paint throwing.  The stencil character also has signed of hand touch ups.  Probably a combination of different techniques was used.

Banksy stencil biplance loops the loop love heart shape on wall in Liverpool 2011

Banksy Love Plane, Liverpool, 2011

Banksy street art on a model home installed without permission at Merrivale Model Village

Banksy mini fire extinguisher graff on model village stable, Aug 2021

Artistmedea who we often meet at urban art shows where she live sketches the private view crowds was thrilled as she lives very close by. She told me that when she has been out sketching she often walks home late at night past the spot chosen by Banksy because it is actually well lit at night.

Artist sketches scene of New Banksy in North LOndon

Artist Medea live sketches

When Banksy did the Valentine Day Mascara in Southend last year I spoke to and photographed a traditional painter with his easel set up painting the “It’s a new Banksy” circus in oils.   Under then name Peter The Painter his art then appeared in the Cut and Run Banksy exhibition in Glasgow last Summer.  Artistmedea ruefully laughed at the comparison with her sketching, promising that Banksy hadn’t hired her.

New Banksy stencil of a man spraying tree on a street in North London

You should have seen the queue of photographers behind me

Time will be a fascinating component of this new Banksy artwork.  Not just the normal temporal aging that affects all street art and graffiti as much as it affects us, nor hopefully the awful sequestration and commodification of those pious “for posterity” art salvors but the pendulum of the seasons will bring forth shoots and leaves to shade and blend with Banksy’s green hues over the warm months before the winter shedding reveals the ageing piece on the wall again.

Banksy imitates nature, nature will imitate art.

LINKS:

Banksy website

Medea’s Instagram

All Photos: Dave Stuart


2023 Street Art Memories

2023 Street art, another year down.  Did you smile more often?  Certainly the Smokers crew aka SMO did.  A burst of activity in the Summer sun included the perfect composition of “Smokers” on a railway bridge as well as the crew acronym SMO appearing all over Shoreditch but the crowning piece was their huge Smile More Often wall with the names of all 12 crew members in smoking purple contained within the blockbuster letters, see the feature image at the top.

Smokers Crew

It there was such a thing as an award for the most up crew of the year it would go to Ghost Writers, no competition.  It seemed that there was someone representing Ghost Writers with something new almost every week.  Christmas week was no different.

graffiti and street art in Shoreditch by Ghost Writers members Minto, Tizer and Trafik and also Pablo Fiasco stencil

Minto, Trafik and Tizer repping Ghost Writers plus Pablo Fiasco

graffiti and street art in Shoreditch by Ghost Writers members Minto, Tizer and Trafik

Minto and Trafik collab, Yorgos, Tizer and Trafik

Banksy’s gift for newsworthiness did not desert him in 2023.    There was the retrospective exhibition in Glasgow, lifting the veil somewhat on the process but not the person and trumping all those shit un-authorised shows of ripped of reproductions and pure fantasy re-creations.  There was the court case which the litigant over hyped as about to lead to Banksy’s identity being revealed.  There was the artwork in Kent on the building that was demolished three days after he painted it.  Then, this being a non chronological list in which the best story is kept to last, there was the “Valentine’s Day Massacre” in Margate which led to possibly the most unfulfilling street art treasure hunt ever.  I arrived just as council contractors loaded the fridge onto a truck for disposal, how much did I rue missing by a minute the train from London that would have got me there an hour earlier.  Peter The Painter didn’t miss a thing, as anyone who Banksy’s Cut and Run show will have seen.  (Actually the most frustrating treasure hunt ever was a night spent wandering the streets of London in vain pursuit of an Adam Neate free art drop in 2008.)

Margate Council truck takes away the freezer from Banksy "Valentines Day Mascara"

Dangerous freezer captured in Margate

Banksy "Valentine's Day Mascara" Street art in Margate without the original freezer

I went London to Margate – the wall went Margate to London

There were at least four occasions this year when street art’s fleeting nature defeated my ponderous reactions. Twice I missed Banksy artworks, (the Valentine’s Day Mascara above) and the Stop War traffic sign installation which was stolen less than an hour after Banksy posted online about it.  The two other occasions were brilliant paintings by Airborne Mark, his masterpieces of virtuoso spraycan technique seem fated to be painting over immediately.  I count my blessings that there were a couple I managed to get to before they disappeared.  Everything about the origami gecko coming to life with every slant and facet of the paper catching the orange and green side lighting differently is just sensational.  All street artists’ creativity has at its core the certainty that the original piece is doomed to a very very short lifespan, yet the artists return again and again unpaid yet showing a dedication to the art which in any other endeavour would be regarded as bonkers.

spraypaint Street art mural by Airborne Mark in Shoreditch

Airborne Mark Gecko and stationery

spraypaint Street art mural by Airborne Mark in Shoreditch

Airborne Mark X Wing and stationery

Russel Shaw Higgs framed his characters beautifully within this lintel, only on the streets can such engagement with a perhaps once grand façade be realised.

street art paste ups in Shoreditch by Russell Shaw Higgs and Dr Cream

Russell Shaw Higgs, also feat Dr Cream

Yorgos first appeared in Shoreditch in 2022 but his prolific output this year has beguiled all.  He paints with influences from Picasso and traces of Matisse and his use of emulsion, which is quite rare in street art, produces a very flat and crisp aesthetic.   This pair of lovers (count the hands!) share their love with a heart that snuggly matches the bike lock frame sitting a couple of feet from the wall.

Street art mural by Yorgos of lovers whose love heart fits into the heart shaped bicycle frame

Yorgos

Yorgos

Most of Jonesy’s creativity on the Shoreditch streets this year was in the form of original drawings and paintings, check out all the oily creatures in the detail below as well as several new bronze castings atop street sign poles.

street art illustration concerned with pollution and environment by Jonesy

Jonesy Jan 2023

bronze casting sitting on top of a street sign of a see no evil monkey with hands covering its eyes

Jonesy See No Evil, March 2023

bronze casting sitting on top of a street sign of a demon with a petrol pump

Jonesy Bronze July 2023

If I have to pick a single art piece that made my jaw hit the ground it was this beauty from Minto.  Minto is a writer more associated with graffiti lettering but when I realised the alignment of the inverted face with the architecture in the background formed a stunning tribute to rapper (and occasional graffiti writer) MF Doom it was clearly a piece of ephemeral genius.

Minto

MF Doom by Minto

Cept is a bit of a renaissance man who goes through phases alternating between gallery installations and outdoor endeavours, it was great to see thet pendulum swung back to street art and graffiti this year.

comic illustration style street art by Cept supervillain with written text confession

Cept

Dan Kitchener had a brilliant year, not just because he painted abroad a lot or in terms of the scale of his murals, he also created some beautiful specimens of urban landscapes and character art in Shoreditch.  The most interesting was the mural which veered towards abstract impressionism in a painting with a point of view sitting in a car looking out through a rainy windscreen at one of his rainy night time neon lit street scenes.  The small photo cannot do justice to the impressionist beauty in the full size mural.  I could be wrong but I think Dan painted this spot three times this year, other artists occupying this wall were Inagaki (twice) and Only E1

spraycan impressionist street scene viewed through a wet window with drip or rivulets of raindrops and car lights reflecting off wet road surface by street artist Dan Kitchener

Dan Kitchener Feb 2023

Nearly every time you turn up to photograph this wall there are huge mountains of bin bags awaiting collection which makes my failure to get the photo of this image with a stack of bin bags in front of it quite unforgivable.

realistic spraycan painting relates to the piles of commercial rubbish seen regularly on Commercial Street

Inagaki, formerly known as Enigma, Feb 2022

Esauteric continued to amaze with his energetic disregard for conventional crisp spraypainting techniques, the very experimental colour combination and of course the manner of painting on walls with irregular surfaces, corners and buttresses that mean you really have to be able to walk around the wall to experience what the art has to offer from different angles.

wall mural colourful energetic face Shoreditch Brick Lane

Esau-teric. one angle only

wall mural colourful energetic face Shoreditch Brick Lane style of Futura2000

Esau-teric. Look closely, there is a 12 inch deep buttress in this picture

ODDO is an enduring Shoreditch favourite and his prolific production of wilder and wilder characters veers towards the curious, dark and scary.   “Bamboo mole” was a recurring theme.  I made one selection of snaps that captured the contribution ODDO made to my enjoyment of street art in 2023 then on the morning of New Years Eve, two more new ODDO artworks popped up on my walk through Shoreditch and one muscled right into this selection.  In a parallel universe I would be wearing clothes designed by ODDO.

crazy clothes crazy colours on harnd drawn street art paste up by ODDO in Shoreditch

ODDO, New Years Eve

crazy clothes crazy colours on harnd drawn street art paste up by ODDO in Shoreditch

ODDO, Feb 2023

crazy clothes crazy colours on harnd drawn street art paste up by ODDO in Shoreditch

ODDO, Oct 2023

Nonose has been doing quirky, lurid potatoes spiked with cocktail sticks since forever and for a little while this year a flotilla of crash-landed sputniks could be found on the tops of bus shelters and street furniture in Shoreditch and Hackney.

a dayglo potato with cocktail sticks by street artist nonose on top of a bus stop shelter

Nonose, Jan 2023

a dayglo potato with cocktail sticks by street artist nonose on top of a bus stop shelter

Nonose, Jan 2023

a dayglo potato with cocktail sticks by street artist nonose on top of a bus stop shelter

Nonose, Jan 2023

For a former graffiti writer Shaim certainly has no fear of negative space!  His hand drawn originals and paste up copies have managed to make horn rimmed glasses sexy again.  The trio of ladies are not copies at all, each is different and for the really curious, the green splats on the wall date back to a Nick Walker show in 2008.

3 black and white female faces on a wall at Old Street Shoreditch by Stephen Haim Shaim

Shaim

Ed Hicks remains the master of painterly gothic street art, he had a productive 2023 and there wasn’t a single piece I saw that I didn’t love.  It’s a puzzle that his masterworks tend to have much shorter lives than equivalent efforts from his peers, the artwork on the Grey Eagle St wall lasted barely a week before giving way to Smile More Often.

double height door gothic light and dark mural on Brick Lane by Ed Hicks

Ed Hicks

street art mural of fiery explosion, Brick Lane, Ed Hicks

Ed Hicks, Nov 2023. 1 week only.

Shoreditch visitors

Shoreditch continues to magnetically attract brilliant visiting artists working from small paste ups to the largest murals.  Alex face painted literally a scorcher, controversially short lived as it was painted over by an advert on a wall which has never hosted an advert before.

burning faces mural by Alex Face from Thailand painted on a wall on Brick Lane

Alex Face, Thailand. Jul 20263

Drash visited London twice this year and her colourful detourned fashion mag pages got brasher and Drasher.

Colourful Street artist Drash La Krasse from La Rochelle next to her art in Shoreditch

Drash La Krasse

Colourful Street art by Drash La Krasse from La Rochelle on derelict window old Shoreditch tube station

Drash La Krasse, with additional LDashD sticker

Niafase, Key and Naths Ice visited from Mexico and got stuck right in painting with some talented artists at various spots around London with Niafase contributing some technically brilliant 3D lettering.

part of large mural with goldfish, portraiture and 3d graffiti lettering

Niafase with Curiouser and Curioser

collaborative wall mural with spraypainted street art and graffiti

Moonkey, Niafaze (Mex), Achezink, Naths_Ice (Mex)

3d graffiti lettering Stockwell hall of fame

MoonkeySP, Solo, Nifazse, Casem, Ezra Kemen, Vladarts, Void One

On My Travels

The years since we were all put in detention have been spent frantically travelling to make up for lost opportunities.  This year wonderful street art was discovered in Manchester, Paris, Southend, Lisbon, Port Talbot and Glasgow.

Manchester’s street art bristles with self confidence and inventiveness.  Hornby train set art?

Geese in a Manchester streert with sign saying on the 6th day God created Manchester

On the 6th day, God created Manchester – Trafford Parsons

Street art made from model railway and figure dressed like Kevin Rowland from Dexys Midnight Runners

“Dexy’s Midnight Roller”  with miniature Kevin Rowland, Jungle Angelo, Manchester

Paris blew me away, over 1000 photos of magical street art was a fraction of what I saw and the task of selecting a few to share proved too painful to contain within just one blog post.  So I wrote two.   Paris is blessed with magnificent murals but there is way more than 10 story murals to Paris’ street art.  B-Toy Andrea’s mural makes the cut just because I loved the way a bit of light painting and long exposure melded the decoration in the subject’s hair with the blossom on the trees.  Paris of course has the largest collection of Space Invaders but I fell in love with the really esoteric things like Tegmo’s glass sculptures and mosaic arrangements.

Tegmo, Paris

2 street names, 5 legged confusion. OJI, Paris

BToy Andrea, Paris

Southend is so easy to get to from London and the Southend City Jam seaside circus has now grown to one of the coolest, happiest and indeed largest gatherings of street artists, graffiti writers and fans in the world.   I wonder what happens to all those boards?

Pink haired woman in front of mural with matching bright pink details

Bublegum, Southend City Jam 2023

Street art from Southend City Jam 2023 Asur work in progress

Asur work in progress, Southend City Jam 2023

Street art from Southend City Jam 2023 Elno

ELNO, Southend City Jam 2023

Street art from Southend City Jam 2023

Epic1, C.A.S.E.M, Southend City Jam 2023

Lisbon has an amazing city wide distribution of street art and graffiti.  Star locals Vhils and Bordalo simply can’t be left out of any Lisbon highlights but even in a city noted for its tiled décor I was delighted with the surprise find of a massive tiled mural by Monsieur A whose parents are Portuguese.

Junk street artist Bordalo studio in Lisbon

Bordalo studio, Lisbon

huge tile mural in Lisbon by street artist Monsieur Andre

Monsieur Andre Tiled mural, Lisbon

huge tile mural in Lisbon by street artist Monsieur Andre

Monsieur Andre Tiled mural, Lisbon

Mural portrait half and half collaboration in Madrid between Shephard Fairey and Vhils

half and half Shepard Fairey, Vhils collab, Lisbon

Glasgow had been invaded by the usual suspects visiting the Banksy exhibition so at that moment it was an effort to track down the local talent rather than same old Shoreditch habituees.

Stencil street art in style of Banksy of falling couple by The Rebel Bear

The Rebel Bear

clever stencil juxtaposition appears to show girl balancing on thin handrail in Glasgow

Rogue Oner, Glasgow

And so, with another New Years Eve photo A Chance Of Creatures kicks out the old and welcomes in the new, may you all have a healthy wiser better more peaceful 2024, fill it with joy and art.

New Years Eve street art 2023 2024 by A Chance Of Creatures In Shoreditch

A Chance Of Creatures – New Years Eve

All photographs: Dave Stuart


panoramic view of traffic STOP sign subverted by Banksy in Peckham

Its A Sign Banksy

Banksy is in the news again, who’d have thought?  For the benefit of anyone dwelling beneath something hard and rock like, an image of three drone missiles appeared on a STOP sign at a road junction in Peckham, South London, acknowledged as a genuine Banksy on Banksy’s instagram.  What made this Banksy particularly newsworthy was the blatant broad daylight removal of the street sign by two thieves which was captured on hi-definition video footage and rapidly circulated on social media.

panoramic view of traffic STOP sign subverted by Banksy in Peckham

Stop War, Banksy, Peckham, 23rd Dec 2023

The artwork is an anti-war message, Banksy’s name for the image is “Stop War”.  There is little doubt in the light of Banksy’s past work in support of Palestine that the reference is to the current war in Gaza.

Among the more ludicrous theories spouted on the internet was the idea that this theft was some kind of Banksy stunt.   Team Banksy is renown for professionalism and secrecy, it’s hard to imagine Banksy engaging a thief who didn’t have the nous to cover their face when committing a crime in front of the cameras.  Also, Banksy would surely have had to give any accomplice an indemnity for potential consequences including arrest and he isn’t that stupid.

close up view of traffic STOP sign subverted by Banksy in Peckham

Stop War, Banksy, Peckham, 23rd Dec 2023

The artwork’s message is delivered through a subversion of an existing road sign, this is a rather unusual niche in Banksy’s street art.

google street view showing Stop sign before Banksy subverted it

Existing STOP sign, June 2022, photo courtesy Google Maps

Banksy’s books, website and Instagram account are the only public sources for verifying something as a genuine Banksy and these reveal just a few examples of modified street signs.  In his 2005 Wall and Piece book we find two photos of what appear to be subverted road signs though we’d need photos of the intact signs to be certain.   In 2009 there was an amended “No Stopping” sign in Whitechapel, London with a rat in a wheel, an image that appeared subsequently in New York and Croydon except the rat is now in a clock face rat race.

Red triangle traffic warning sign subverted by Banksy

Subverted traffic sign, Photo: Banksy, Wall and Piece

subverted Give Way traffic sign by Banksy showing cow hanging from Parachute

Banksy, Wall and Piece

No Stopping traffic sig with added rat in a wheel by Banksy

No stopping rat race, Banksy, Bell Lane 2009 – Photo Banksy, Cut and RUN 2023

In 2018 a genuine Banksy “OAP Crossing” sign appeared in Clevedon, Somerset.  The sign needed the context of an elderly population for full impact so as a dormitory town for retired old folk Clevedon was ideal but in the absence of a suitable existing sign Banksy made the sign from scratch and placed it on the lamppost.

Two traffic stop signs subverted by street artist Mantis to read Stop Consuming

STOP CONSUMING, Mantis, Shoreditch 2008

Identical drones have appeared a number of times in the Banksy cannon including as artwork in his currently closed Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem and as part of the Gross Domestic Product shop in 2019.

Banksy artwork with drones bombing a painting of a hillsdie by Banksy in the Gross Domestic Product display, Croydon, 2019

Duck and Cover, Banksy, Gross Domestic Product, Croydon 2019

The GDP drones were advertised for sale online by Banksy and the secret of the craftsmanship is revealed in the product description.  From photos they may look stencilled but the drones are actually painted resin glued to the signs.  This gives rise to the excellent drop shadow effect and the relief structure can be seen in this photo.

product label for Banksy artwork Duck and Cover

Duck and Cover product label, Banksy, Gross Domestic Product, Croydon 2019

For about 12 hours the police position on the Peckham stop sign was they weren’t taking any action as no loss had been reported.  After a short idling period they did a U-turn to “Seeking information regarding an incident” which then gave way to “A man has been arrested”.  Miffed artists droned on about preferential treatment for Banksy and one full caps online comment screamed “SOUTHWARK APPARENTLY THINK ITS THEIRS. ITS NOT”, referring to the notion of street art being for everyone.    Well, actually it is theirs.  The thief was charged with criminal damage which is a property offence, nothing to do with it being art theft.  Street signs on local roads (sub motorway and A roads) are the council’s responsibility and Southwark could not give a flying one about the Banksy, it’s more likely that they can’t be seen to be blasé about such a high profile un-authorised street sign removal.

Other artists have augmented street signs for art and political purposes, without doubt the best known is the French artist Clet Abraham. Banksy isn’t the only artist whose subverted street signs get nicked.

subverted traffic no entry sign by Clet Abraham, Marylebone 2022

No entry David, Clet Abraham, Marylebone 2022

subverted pair of no entry traffic signs in Shoreditch, 2008

STOP CONSUMING, Mantis, Shoreditch 2008

subverted traffic no entry sign by Clet Abraham, Brick Lane 2022

Now you see Clet Abraham, Brick Lane 2022

replaced traffic No Entry sigh, Brick Lane

No sign of Clet, December 2023

This isn’t the first time I have put up a blog post on Christmas Day, in 2009 Robbo (RIP) delivered a brilliant ripost to Banksy, part of the memorable spat between the pair and blogged HERE.

Many thanks to Art Of The State whose thoughts and reminders greatly informed this post


Banksy "Cut and Run" poster image stencil of running mouse with stanley knife

Banksy Exhibition Cut and Run

The ground floor of the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow was been taken over by a huge retrospective of some of Banksy’s greatest hits, more than 75 pieces in total.  Unfortunately health reasons meant I could not make the exhibition until the last week but here for the benefit of all who haven’t had the chance to go, the exhibition closed 28th August, here are some reflections on a characteristically sensational Banksy exhibition.

Banksy Cut and Run exhibition Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow

Gallery Of Modern Art, Glasgow

Banksy sprung the exhibition on the unsuspecting public with zero notice, a modus operandi he employed for his 2009 “Banksy v. Bristol Museum and gallery” show.    His shows always achieve capacity attendance with long waiting lines so no advance notice is required and the marketing budget must be next to zero.

Banksy stencil of two boys installing a cone at Cut and Run exhibition Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow

Cone placement

A few years ago Banksy’s former manager Steve Lazarides put on a show of Banksy prints at Sotheby’s in London and since then a huge industry of un-authorised mediocre travelling shows of Banksy’s art have sprung up.  I mean – re-imagined 3D sculptures derived from a Banksy image on paper what kind of uninspired diminished art trinket is that?  This has pissed Banksy off, as evidenced by his Q&As which were basically a warning not to go to those shows.  Cut and Run is Banksy’s official retrospective based on his street art rather than his indoor commercial stuff and it wipes the wall with those rip off copycats.

Banksy Website Product Recall screengrab

Fake exhibitions – Banksy.co.uk website 2019 onwards

The majority of the art pieces comprise battle scarred stencils imaginatively staged to recreate familiar Banksy images going right back to his earliest stencil pieces.  Converting stencils into viable exhibition worthy pieces of art has required some augmentation.  Stencils of the black layer of images have had a light coat of white or grey to define the black and outline the rest of the image.  Check the dual aura of white and black around the edge of the stencil image illustrating the cover of the show book, a good example.

Banksy "Cut and Run" book cover with early stencil of running policemen

Cut and Run Banksy book cover

There are also stencilled artworks as opposed to stencils turned into artworks and almost every installation or piece of art is accompanied by pithy text in the classic Banksy vein.

If you are find that this review is a bit light on photos of art from the exhibition you are right.   Photography was not allowed in the exhibition.  A motley crew of gallery attendants were on hand to take polaroid snaps using a weak built-in camera flash, consequently we have here a selection of dim photos, dull photos and some photos from the distant past.  Cheers Banksy.

Banksy Cut and Run visitor pose for polaroid in Banksy phone booth with GCHQ spies listening

Spy Booth v innocent member of the public

The exhibition layout is essentially two meandering passages connected by a larger hall in the middle and at the end you exit through the gift shop (of course) which then spits you out in a passage of thousands of multi coloured audience generated tags.   The show starts with a reconstruction of part of Banksy’s studio, seemingly a stencil cutting station.  The final installation is a reconstruction of Banksy’s bedroom.

Banksy explanation of why he still does street art at Cut and Run exhibition Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow August 2023

Why I Still Do This

Banksy bedroom mock up at Cut and Run exhibition Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow August 2023

Wherever he lays his hat

Main Hall view at Banksy Cut and Run exhibition Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow

Large Hall (repo’d crayon house to left) – viewed from bedroom window

If you expect vandal paraphernalia and anarchist regalia then the actual bedroom may surprise you with its conventionality.  Lots of militaria, budget toiletries and the Prodigy’s Jilted Generation double LP displaying its inner sleeve kill-the-bill rave fantasy illustration by Les Edwards.  As that album was released in 1994 this would suggest either Banksy is younger than we imagined, 1974 is often cited as a possible year of birth, or the bedroom is that of someone on the cusp of their 20s whose décor hadn’t kept step with their emergence into young adulthood.

Banksy Bedroom mock up detail at Cut and Run exhibition Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow

Prodigy LP, Castle Morton Moment

The exhibition is way more than the widely reported stencil retrospective, a couple of pieces had not been seen before in public and both have interesting stories.  One quirky installation comprises a collection of oil paintings by a painter named in the show as Pete Brown.  In February this year Banksy created a piece known as Valentine Day Mascara in the seaside town Margate.  There was an artist on hand painting the scene in oil on board and making a nice job of it.  From that hand come 5 oil paintings displayed with Banksy’s explanation that he believes the art in the street is as much about the pageant that develops around it as it is the street art he created.

Outdoor en plein air painter Pete Brown paints Banksy Valentines Day Mascara at Margate 2023

“Valentine’s Day Mascara” scene feat Pete Brown, Margate, Valentine’s Day 2023

If Pete Brown had turned out to be an untraceable pseudonym that would have been bog standard Banksy subterfuge but Peter Brown aka “Pete The Street” is a proper proper artist with an impressive cv and a website that makes no reference to Banksy, a sure fire indicator of someone who has worked for Banksy! https://www.peterbrownneac.com/biography/

Main hall view at Banksy Cut and Run exhibition Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow

Margate paintings viewed through one-way window from Banksy bedroom

Another new work, or at least one being seen in “real life” for the first time, depicts a rat and a couple of spray cans which previously appeared on the film set in Bristol for the TV series The Outlaws.  The press had a field day at the time with the “controversial” buff by Christopher Walken but this was no disturbed actor tantrum, its painting over was scripted and Banksy contributed the image in celebration of a programme made in his sometime home town.  Curiously this painting is not reproduced in the book “Cut and Run” that goes with the show.

Banksy Cut and Run visitors pose for polaroid in front of Banksy arcade game grab

Arcade game grab

On the subject of books, Banksy has been writing books since early in his career, “Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall” was published in 2001 and the text notes accompanying the art in Cut and Run are as important as part of the art as the stencil and imagery.  In some instances the imagery seems to be there just to support the delivery of a well written, witty, pithy and often self-deprecating story.   The display of the storyboard, a painting and an animation cell from Banksy’s couch sequence opening to The Simpsons in 2010 is a perfect example, setting up to his brilliant “racist hat crime” punchline.

Banksy animation storyboard from Simpsons couch sequence 2011

SImpsons Storyboard, Banksy website, 2011

Banksy animation frame from Simpsons couch sequence 2011

Simpsons animator sweatshop

It seems obligatory to describe this show as Banksy’s first solo exhibition for 14 years.   This is a bit puzzling as it required that we forget the 2019 “Gross Domestic Product” show in Croydon.

The stencil used to create “Basquiat Stop and Search”, one of a pair of tributes put up below London’s Barbican Centre on the eve of the opening of the 2017 Basquiat retrospective had a spectacular amount of additional painting to recreate the whole of the original image.  The image on the street is possibly the most painterly illegal Banksy street art of them all and merited this colourful exhibition treatment.

Banksy painted tribute to Basquiat at Barbican 2017 called Basquiat stop and search

“Basquiat Stop and Search”, Barbican, 2017

Content wise this show contains a lot of Banksy humour, huge amounts of the trademark anti authoritarian humour, lots of great anecdotes told with typical Banksy impish wit and as you would expect, plenty of politics.   Banksy the thrower of light onto political murk highlights so many issues and causes including Arab-Israeli tensions, the environment, anti-war protest, racism, child exploitation, the refugee crisis, Ukraine, consumerism, Brexit and gentrification.

Banksy Cut and Run visitor pose for polaroid in front of Banksy No Ball Games stencil

No Ball Games

Banksy’s mystery is in no way diminished by this show, the exhibition is personality not persona, after the show no one is any none the wiser about Banksy’s identity and you already knew Banksy is the coolest artist in town

Exit Through The Gift Shop painting by Banksy Cut and Run exhibition Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow

Exit Through The Gift Shop

In revealing a bit more of how the magician does his tricks Cut and Run has echoes of what Banksy achieved with the 2008 Cans Festival group show which had a public spray area where anyone and everyone turn up with a stencil and release their inner outdoor artist.  This exhibition shows the comparative simplicity of Banksy’s craft, we see the tools, the stencils and the end results.  The real genius however lies in the inspiration and the execution and both on the streets and in delivering this show Banksy has no peers.

Banksy stencil saying Designated Graffiti Area on a tagged wall at Cut and Run exhibition Gallery Of Modern Art Glasgow

Designated Graffiti Area

Banksy Cut and Run visitors pose for polaroid in front of Banksy meat truck

Lambs

For a comprehensive listing of the items exhibited in “Cut and Run” check out my other blog post here.

Banksy “Cut and Run”

Gallery Of Modern Art, Glasgow

18th June – 28th August 2023

All Photos: Dave Stuart except where otherwise credited


Detail of art by street artist Faile and Shepard Fairey in Saatchi Gallery exhibition "Beyond The Streets"

Beyond The Streets Exclusive Intervew

Beyond The Streets, a huge public exhibition dedicated to the history of graffiti, street art and related cultures related has arrived in London after previously showing in New York and LA.

The exhibition is epic in scale and wide ranging in content and features art and installations from many household names from the urban art realm.   Yesterday, the day before the official opening to the public, we manage to put together a taster video and we grabbed an exclusive moment with the curator Roger Gastman, if you have seen Banksy’s Exit Through The gift Shop he was the Zvengali saviour parachuted in by Banksy to wave his “make-shit-happen” wand over the chaos of Mr Brainwash’s LA debut show.

One burning question is why no Banksy The elephant is not in the room.  Yet.  We have a sneaky feeling that these guys could still have something up their sleeve.

Our full review will follow eventually, there’s no rush!

Public mingle in front of artist Toby Mott's display of anarchist posters at Beyond The Streets exhibition at Saatchi Gallery London

Beyond The Streets

“Beyond The Streets”

Feb 17th – May 9th

Saatchi Gallery, Duke Of Yorks HQ, King’s Road, London SW3 4RY

 

 


Banksy stencil in Birmingham of reindeers pulling a bench a homeless man slept on

Birmingham Street Art – not just Banksy

“It’s A Brum Ting” has been the signature tune of the past fortnight as Birmingham hosted the Commonwealth Games.  So what is it about Birmingham, why is it so great?  Armed with a cheap cheap day return rail ticket I set out several weeks back to discover if Birmingham Street Art is what Goldie, Trevor Francis and Banksy (might have) appreciated about the UK’s “Second City” ™.

Justin Sola, Void One & Mose78

The art started right outside the train station, FokaWolf was well represented as was Brummy staple Tempo, of whom more later.

paste up street art in Birmingham by Fokawolf

Fokawolf

Sticker in central Birmingham of a cartoon face with sharp teeth by Tempo 33

Tempo 33

Gent 48 is a giant of Birmingham’s street art scene so perhaps it was either fitting, or just inevitable, that the first mural spotted was by Gent48, painted in January this year when Birmingham was sorting out the torch relay for the opening of the Commonwealth Games.  The mural features Haseebah Abdullah, England’s first hijab-wearing boxing coach and Salma Bi, who founded the first all Asian women’s cricket team.

Street Art mural in Birmingham by Gent 48 depicting Haseebah Abdullah and Salma Bi

Gent 48

The one flag planted in my vague, unplanned plan was to locate Birmingham’s 2019 Banksy.  Tick the box, complete the set.  The route took me through a cluster of architecturally fascinating buildings.  London is quite staid by comparison, so many planning luddites have ensured our post war rebuilding  lacks the surprise, flair and modernism a waddle around the centre of Birmingham will reveal.   The interior of the Birmingham Library is so worth exploring for its design as well as its exhibition content.

Exterior view of Birmingham New Street train station designed by Alejandro Zaera-Polo

Birmingham New Street by Alejandro Zaera-Polo

Birmingham Library

Birmingham Library interior

The route to the Banksy had already been mapped out by the Charm Bracelet trail by Mick Thacker and Mark Renn.

Birmingham Jewellery Quarter Charm Bracelet pavement plaque trail, Mick Thacker and Mark Renn

Birmingham Jewellery Quarter pavement plaque trail, Mick Thacker and Mark Renn

What’s to say about the Banksy on Vyse Street.  Great placement, great use of the street furniture and a poignancy likely to rise as rampant inflation and fuel poverty drives up homelessness next winter.  It is well preserved and thankfully no gallerist twat has laid his grubby “Preserving street art for private collectors” hands on it.  So far.  It’s a pig to photograph clearly and parts of its execution are a tad indifferent.

Banksy confirmed this stencil as genuine with a website message saying “God bless Birmingham. In the 20 minutes we filmed Ryan on this bench passers-by gave him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter – without him ever asking for anything.”

Arriving in Birmingham I expected graffiti; thanks to an awareness of its recent history of street art festivals I expected murals; I wasn’t fully prepared for the brilliant explosion of sticker art.  Every lamppost, traffic light, street sign and pole had been claimed by sticker art, one of my favourites being the huge variety of brace faces by Tempo who we used to see fairly frequently in London 10 or so years ago.

Montage of Tempo 33 stickers seen in Birmingham

Tempo 33

When Tempo was up in London our main delight was his large circular non permissioned paste-ups so finding a number of larger spraypainted murals was a pleasure.

spray painted graffiti mural of a circular face with huge mouth of spikey teeth with braces by street artist Tempo 33

Tempo 33

Brace Face spraypainted by Tempo 33 in Birmingham

Tempo 33

Brace Face spraypainted by Tempo 33 in Birmingham

Tempo 33

Other sticker artists included Wreck1, Lisk Bot, Never A Servant, the legend Fokawolf and a very impressive scattering of the playful and rare (to me at least) street art of Pahnl.

Sticker artists Werck1 and Lisk Bot on a traffic sign in Birmingham

Werck1, Lisk Bot

Sticker artist NVRASIR on a lamppost in Birmingham

NVRASIR

Sticker artists Fokawolf and "Titty"on a lamppost in Birmingham

Fokawolf & “Titty”

street art pictographic installation by Pahnl

Pahnl pictogram installation

sign subversion by street artist Pahnl in Birmingham

Pahnl sign subversion

Birmingham embraces adventurous and exciting architecture but the ancient brick and steam midlands’ post-industrial relics co-exist alongside the modern.  Graff was popping up in some breathtaking spots and with more canals than Venice (Brummies say), canal-side vistas in particular are worth hunting out.

Post industrial heritage shot with The Birmingham & Fazeley Canal goes through a brick lined arch in Birmingham

Birmingham & Fazeley Canal

River Rea graff

Post industrial heritage shot with The Birmingham & Fazeley Canal in Birmingham

Farmers Bridge Locks

Paste-up action in the vicinity was fairly limited, the paste-up hall of fame hunt will have to wait till the next visit.

Void One, Foka Wolf

The urban huddle of car parks, streets and old factories in Digbeth just to the east of the city centre forms an amazing gallery.  It is dominated by amazing murals, some appear to be permission murals liable to change, some look like relics of street art festivals with tags acknowledging “City of Colours” (2014 – 16) and “HighViz Festival” (2019-21) as well as our perpetual favourite – get up and get away with it.

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Chance plays a key role in street art spotting in a city you haven’t explored before.  There is the chance of what artists are “up” at that moment, your experience, your sample will possibly be completely different to anyone else before or after.  Also, what route do you take across the urban spider web of streets, alleys and paths?  From A, B may be sought by going right then left; or you can turn left then go right, that’s two different street art galleries right there.  While slaloming through the mainly industrial streets from Digbeth back to the train station, a glance over the shoulder into an open door revealed a delicious collection of political and tribute murals inside a fortuitously empty car park.

Void One memorial tribute mural to Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Astro (UB40) and Captain Tom in a Birmingham car park

Void One memorial tribute mural to Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Astro (UB40) and Captain Tom

Street Art mural in a Birmingham car park featuring Donald Trump by street artist Gent 48

Donald Trump by Gent 48, Character and graff by Ziner

Two faced Jeremy Hunt as NHS Joker mural in a Birmingham car park by street artist Void One

NHS Joker by Void One

portraits of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King in a mural in a Birmingham car park by street artist Title

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King by Title

Street Art mural in a Birmingham car park featuring Theresa May and a screaming policeman by street artist Title

Theresa May by Title

A good street art city should house a collection which is too vast for you to cover in your limited time, especially on a one day visit.   It should also have change, renewal, vibrant health and life and Birmingham’s street art scene has both of these.  It is hard to put it better than Birmingham’s own Prince Of Darkness when Black Sabbath reunited last Sunday (Paranoid at 1 min exactly) for a spine tingling surprise set (iplayer, some areas, go to 2 hours exactly, next 3 months) at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony:

“You are the best…..Birmingham forEVVVAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH”

Selected Links:

Gent 48 instagram

Ziner instagram

Tempo 33 instagram

Banksy website  (Please tell Banksy you found him through Shoreditch Street Art Tours)

All Photos Dave Stuart

52 Birmingham street art photos