Tag Archives: Clet Abraham

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


Street Art, Shoreditch, London, street art tour, tour guide, Banksy, Stik, Roa, Dismaland, Dr D, Vermibus, Alo, Clet Abraham,

A Decade of Genius Street Art

As we start a new decade a review of a tiny amount of the amazing street art witnessed in the past decade seemed appropriate.

A Bun In Their Hair, ALO, Shoreditch 2014

Here is a slide show of a number of the images that made the final review of the “wild Wonderous and Inventive” art, which is a rather vague way of saying “stuff that wasn’t mentioned in our mural, sculptural or political street art reviews.

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The only way to bring to a close this dredging up of our favourite specimens of wild outdoor art is to look back at what Banksy has been up to. Although Banksy produced far less street art in the past decade than in the noughties, on almost all respects other than quantity he continues to be the most important, brilliant and relevant artist in whatever field he chooses.

Banksy Dismaland, 2015

Banksy’s Better In Than Out in New York saw a month long treasure hunt – “hide and seek” combo which cast Banksy as Bonnie And Clyde against the NY mayor, police and press and the world watched with glee but we already knew Banksy would never be caught.

Better Out Than IN, Banksy, New York, photo LunaPark

He also had a major art triumph staging a group shop with a conscience at Dismaland though we already knew Banksy did extraordinary exhibition/experience fusion.

Dismaland, Banksy, Weston Super Mare, 2015

He created a huge mural in Dover in 2017 but we already knew Brexit was a stupid idea.

Banksy, Dover 2017

My favourite Banksy of the decade however was his Les Miserables in Knightsbridge, London’s embassy land.

Tear gassed Cosette, Banksy, Knightsbridge London, 2016

It has the Banksy signature elements, it had the cleverness in repurposing the iconic image of Cosette, it had the impact in terms of global exposure, right opposite the French embassy it combined perfect placement with the “wow, how did he get away with that.” factor.

We did not however know about the French police tear gassing migrant families in the camps in Calais and this was Banksy’s crowning achievement, bringing that shameful episode to wider international attention.

Cosette v French embassy, Banksy, Knightsbridge London, 2016

This selection of photos a part of the selection reviewed and discussed on the Graffoto blog post 2010 – 2019 Wild Wonderous Inventive Street Art

All photos Dave Stuart except LunaPark where noted

It has been a huge pleasure to write 5 reviews of the street art of the past decade which we personally enjoyed.  The Links to those reviews are at the bottom of the Graffoto review.  A specific review of the street art of 2019 might appear shortly.

 


Clet Abraham, Brick Lane, Shoreditch,Traffic sign, sticker, intervention, subversion, humour, Street Art Tour, street artist,

Caution Clet Abraham Overhead

A new haul of Clet Abraham traffic sign stickers has appeared overnight on Brick Lane. Clet Abraham is always a favourite on the street art tour with a number of his stickers dating from 2013 surviving.   Clet Abraham’s stickers have appeared on previous visits in many parts of London including Shoreditch (of course), Soho, Putney and even that well known street art hotspot Belgravia.

Clet Abraham, Brick Lane, Shoreditch,Traffic sign, sticker, intervention, subversion, humour, Street Art Tour, street artist,

Clet Abraham, Brick Lane, Shoreditch,Traffic sign, sticker, intervention, subversion, humour, Street Art Tour, street artist,

This set of 8 stickers were all spotted close to the location of Moniker Art Fair, the urban art satellite fair taking place this weekend as part of London’s art week. I have seen only one of this set before in London, it’s always a delight to find a new clutch from this talented street artist.

Clet Abraham, Brick Lane, Shoreditch,Traffic sign, sticker, intervention, subversion, humour, Street Art Tour, street artist,

Clet Abraham has work on the Graffik Gallery stand at Moniker Art Fair, details of which were mentioned in a blog post a couple of days ago.

Clet Abraham, Brick Lane, Shoreditch,Traffic sign, sticker, intervention, subversion, humour, Street Art Tour, street artist,

Graffik Gallery have announced today what they curiously describe as an official party to take place at Graffik’s premises in Portobello Road on Saturday 17th October, 7pm – 11pm. No prizes for guessing where Clet Abraham might be this evening adding his humorous intervention to traffic signs.

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Clet Abraham flashbacks;

London 2103

By The River, Putney 2013

Graffik Gallery,

284 Portobello Road, London W10 5TE

Moniker Art Fair

Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

hasty “walk by” photos: Dave Stuart aka NoLionsInEngland

 


Street art, street artist, stickers, London, Putney, street signs, subversion, Clet Abraham, walk,

Clet Abraham Street Art Stickers in Putney, London

An trip to Putney on the banks of the River Thames in West London highlighted how far and wide Italian street artist Clet Abraham has scattered his wonderful road sign subversions.

Street art, street artist, stickers, London, Putney, street signs, subversion, Clet Abraham, walk,

Putney crucifixion

We reported last year on the fruit of Clet Abraham’s visit to Shoreditch and the City district here.

Street art, street artist, stickers, London, Putney, street signs, subversion, Clet Abraham, walk,

Clet Abraham, Putney

Apart from sighting the rich crop deposited around Shoreditch last November, we have seen Clet Abrahams stickers on signs from The City to Oxford St and Soho to Sloane Square.

Street art, street artist, stickers, London, Putney, street signs, subversion, Clet Abraham, walk,

Cornucopia of signs

At last, another thing to smile at in Putney apart from Chelsea tractors caught by a rising tide on the river bank.

All photos: NoLionsInEngland


Clet Abraham, Shoreditch,London,Street Art,artist,stencil,subverted,road signs,no entry, traffic signs

Street Art Subversions In Shoreditch

On the Shoreditch Street Art Tour we come across many artists whose work is guided and inspired by the street canvas they are decorating.

 Clet Abraham, Shoreditch,London,Street Art,artist,stencil,subverted,road signs,no entry, traffic signs

Clet Abraham, 2013

Clet Abraham is a Florence based French artist whose trademark artistic intervention is modification of no entry signs.  Clet’s previous London visits left us very familiar with stop sign’s white bars turned into a heavy load being hefted by a silhouetted figure across the street.   Having found photographic evidence of the range of Clet’s other street sign subversions across Europe, it seemed slightly puzzling that in London he had focussed so heavily on that one image.

Clet Abraham, Shoreditch,London,Street Art,artist,stencil,subverted,road signs,no entry, traffic signs

Clet Abraham, 2013

Thankfully Clet has returned to London and unleashed a huge variety of sign modifications across our junctions.  The London one way labyrinth must be a dream come true for this Italian resident and Clet-spotting has become a great delight for the guests on several street art tours since Friday.

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