Tag Archives: Paste-Up

Shoreditch Paste Up Frenzy!

Shoreditch is full of little corners where street art survives and accumulates in layers, like a busy kitchen pinboard. Last week one such canvas near Columbia road was transformed by, in no particular order, Donk, Skeleton Cardboard, Rider and Tommy Fiendish into the beautiful paste up collage you see in the feature image above.

Streetart, Shoreditch, ShoreditchStreetArtTours, LondonStreetArt, LondonArtTours, LondonStreetArtTours, , Streetartist, paste up, Paste ups, portraits, canvas, Donk, Rider, zombiesquegee, Tommy Fiendish, Skeleton Cardboard

L-R Rider, Donk

Skeleton Cardboard

L-R Rider, Tommy Fiendish, Skeleton Cardboard

Whether neglect or tolerance is the reason why the property owner has allowed street art to accumulate, mutate and flourish on this canvas is a matter for another day but it is interesting to look at just a few examples of how the patina of this door’s surface has evolved down the years.

A year Ago in November 2019 the door looked like this:

Feat Anne-laure Maison, Donk, Arrex Skulls, Subdude, Fosh, Citty Kitty, Shuby, Noriaki, Silvio Alino, D7606

Just a week ago a fair portion of the art present in 2019 was showing a steely determination to cling on in spite of tempest and subsequent creatives.

Nov 2020: Feat DaddyStreetFox vs Anne-laure Maison, Donk, Subdude, Fosh, Citty Kitty, Shuby, Noriaki, Silvio Alino, Bento Ghoul, Voxx Romana, Pyramid Oracle, D7606

The Pyramid Oracle paste up still visible in parts in 2019 and 2020 has already lasted since 2015, thanks mainly to its height.

2015: Pyramid Oracle, also feat Sweet Toof, Donk, Voxx Romana, Noriaki, Anna Laurini, Ema, D7606

HIN was busy around Shoreditch 2012 – 2014 and if you looked at the bottom of the door in 2013 you would see a HIN character with an Aida face created from her infamous “East End Still Sucks” response to the Hackney Olympics. That originally started out as a “go vegan” augmentation by HIN of Aida’s screen printed tiger paste up as shown in the following shot, the HIN body was still visible last week!

2013: Sweet Toof, Aida, Kid Acne, Ema, Donk, Angry Face, HIN

Finally, back in 2012 this canvas was one of many to host the Sweet Toof/Paul Insect street group show. This photo also features a framed print by New York street artist Gaia in a walk on part!

2012: Sweet Toof, Paul Insect, Aida, Hin & Aida collab, Kid Acne, Ema; print by Gaia

As always the beauty of the art process here is the absence of the selective and restrictive eye of a curator, an organiser.

A few years ago a permissioned wall on Hanbury Street triggered a similar “longitudinal” review of the changes time wrought on that particular canvas, click here.

Finally, if you have enjoyed this look back through a street art time machine why not put an end to that lockdown stir crazy feeling by joining the author on a tour of Shoreditch’s street art, click here

All photos: Dave Stuart

Street Art Against Hate

In a weekend when a lot of new street art appeared in Shoreditch one creation particularly stood out, the new “Wall Of Love” from the #NoHate family of street artists. This consists signature art from 355 artists rendered in a circular format under the slogans #StreetartAgainstHate #ToLiveAndLetLive

Streetart Against Hate; Live And Let Live

This London installation was put together by 8ArmsToHug from Cologne assisted by street art friends in the area, so perhaps it would be more appropriate to use the German versions of the slogans #StreetArtJajeHass #LevveUnLevveLoss

Featuring Homo Riot (LA)

The impact of seeing this on this wall in real life is immense. I was humbled to share the experience seeing this for the first time in the company of Patricia and Manuel Oliver whose son Joaquin Oliver was a victim of a mass killing earlier this year in the US. Joaquin was one of 14 high school children and 3 school staff killed along with 17 others wounded when a 19 year old male armed with a semi automatic rifle entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with murderous intent and devastating consequences.

Parkland Florida Victims, image courtesy CBS News

Patricia and Manuel have set up a charity Change The Ref “To empower our next generation so they can fight for their values, have their voices heard, and impact change for their future.” Founded in the memory of their son Joaquin who was one of the 17 victims, Manuel and Patricia Oliver are committed to making sure that their son’s life and the lives of the other 16 victims are never forgotten and that real change happens to prevent future tragedies like this from happening ever again.

Manual told me that they aim to change the American gun culture by making powerful graphic statements all around the world and urban art is part of their efforts to send their message in non traditional ways.

WE DEMAND…. Mural by Manuel Oliver, Winwood, Miami. Photo supplied by Manuel Oliver

Notice the electrical box cleverly simulating a lecturn inviting visitors to declare their support.

Gun control and anti hate are not perfect synonyms but they are facets of the same coin. I felt honoured to be able to show Patricia and Manuel a lot of politically engaged art in Shoreditch including Jimmy C’s Trayvon Martin mural, Bambi’s tribute to Michael Brown and of course the epic new NoHate wall.

Live and Let Live: Germany’s legendary 1Up graffiti crew

Live and Let Live

The #StreetArtAgainstHate originated in Cologne just one month ago and has gone viral. Live and Let Live or #LevveUnLevveLosse in its original German is actually the motto of Cologne, described as a s, 8ArmsToHug says there are now over 530 artists from all over the world taking part, see how many you can identify in the photos! The #NoHate derives its power from its volume, each individual artist makes a small contribution but the mass of messages combine to project a message far louder than the sum of the individual artist’s voices.

Street art is a platform which many artists use successfully in transmitting powerful messages to an audience larger and more diverse than their own social circle, and yes, street art supports many campaigns to end advertising, smash capitalism, prevent injustice, stop gentrification, education for all and so on, all brilliant causes passionately cherished by their champions but surely there can’t be a more power purpose that ending hate and ending the insanity of human on human gun violence. My only regret is that I don’t feel capable of capturing the intensity of seeing this wonderful wall in person.

#NoHate

#StreetartAgainstHate feauring Mythos BLN

Many thanks to 8ArmstoHug for her patient help with background, not to mention of course putting up the London Wall Of Love

featuring Smiler, a tour regular

Links:

Live and Let Live/levve Un Levve Losse Instagram

Change the Ref: Website

8ArmsToHug Instagram

All photos Dave Stuart (Instagram) except where noted

This post originally appeared on the Author’s personal street art blog Graffoto

Stop Street Art Cos It’s Cold? No Chance!

The trains may be up the spout and the motorways down to a single lane slush slalom but it takes more than a cold weather to stop street art activity in Shoreditch, or indeed to get in the way of our awesome guests! The feature shot at the top of this post shows a solid group of hardcore street art fans, they are 3 hours into a tour during which the snow barely paused yet here they are, cheerful, smiling and standing in front of an equally hardcore piece of graffiti by legend EINE.

Through the snow we found quite a lot of new street art this morning put up by artists determined to remain active despite freezing temperatures over the past few days.

I was particularly impressed by this Jake character by Losthills, it may look like a paste up which is his usual medium on the streets but this is actually a relief sculpture.

Street art, street artists, Shoreditch, London, snow, paste up,Losthills

#Jake by Losthills

Nice to see new stuff from Orrible in Shoreditch with the stencil on paint rat paste up.

Orrible

Mowcka was also new since yesterday and as with nearly all of this small, clandestine street art the beauty is as much in roughness of the layers, colours and textures in the surround as it is about the actual art piece.

Street art, street artists, Shoreditch, London, snow, paste up,Mowcka

Mowcka has a natural connection

RIP Smith has been making regular trips up from the West Country this year, this Slimshady stencil was spotted yesterday.

RIP Smith

A fresh addition roughly pasted over some beautiful abstract colours comes courtesy of dmstff.

DMSTFF

Broke Art‘s fresh piece comments on the huge increase in dependency on foodbanks, particularly among those whose part time employment means they fall out of the state support system yet find the work does not provide a living wage. Plus it’s always good to see street art appearing over advertising.

Broke Art

Even Invader LDN_106 was looking blue from the cold today.

Street art, street artists, Shoreditch, London, snow,mosaic, tiles, LDN_106

Space Invader LDN_106 in the snow

Some of this art came from a group of regular London paste up provocateurs who had a group show this weekend (only) at the 5^th Base Gallery on Heneage St.

Winter is coming but it isn’t stopping the street artists nor the Shoreditch Street Art Tour guests!

Links:

Losthills Instagram

Orrible Instagram

Mowcka Instagram

RIP Smith Instagram

dmstff Instagram

Broke Art Instagram

Space Invader website

All photos: Dave Stuart

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

Victoria Villasanna – New Embroidered Art

Every now and again someone lights up the world of street art and this morning a new treasure trove of art by Victoria Villasana appeared across Shoreditch.

London, Shoreditch, Street Art, Victoria Villasanna, Embroidery, embroidered, paste up

Victoria has collaborated with many artists over the past year or so and the first new piece spotted this morning is a beautiful embroidered enhancement of a Rueben Dangoor paste up of Grime artist Wiley.

London, Shoreditch, Street Art, Victoria Villasanna, Embroidery, embroidered, paste up, collaboration, Rueben Dangoor

Then followed a mother and child ironically juxtaposed with a WRDSMTH “bot mot” exhorting the subjects to smile.

London, Shoreditch, Street Art, Victoria Villasanna, Embroidery, embroidered, paste up

Finally, incomplete contrast, several “haberdasheried” sultry females round off the new Villasana art found today.

London, Shoreditch, Street Art, Victoria Villasanna, Embroidery, embroidered, paste up

So, fresh art using unusual techniques suffused with political aspects, collaborations and striking beautiful colours. Street art lives!

All photos: Dave Stuart aka NoLionsInEngland

Previous Shoreditch Street Art Tours blog posts about Victoria Villasanna HERE

Victoria Villasanna on Facebook

Reuben Dangoor webpage

WRDSMTH and Megzany In London

A few weeks ago (I have been trying to find time to write this post for quite a while) London was visited by two artists from LA, Megzany and WRDSMTH. WRDSMTH is no stranger to London, this by my recollection could be his 4^th visit to London for the purpose of putting up some street art. On his last visit just before the New Year he collaborated with a number of street artists from the UK.

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Working with mixed media stencil and pasted paper, WRDSMTH’s work has charm, occasional pathos and a subdued humour often tinged with romance. His work is thus, very popular. On this occasion, WRDSMTH put up his largest typewriter piece on his visits to London.

London, street art, Shoreditch, guided tour, graffiti, Wrdsmth, stencil, paste up, typewriter, wall

There was also the small matter of his words appearing on large paste ups on the back of London’s iconic red telephone boxes.

London, street art, Shoreditch, guided tour, graffiti, Wrdsmth, stencil, paste up, phone box, wall

The same day these new WRDSMTH pieces were spotted, a large crisply sprayed biplane with a curious message appeared on a wall on Brick Lane. A bit of searching online revealed the artist to be Megzany, also from Los Angeles. Megzany certainly knows how to spray a clean single layer stencil and her stencil construction technique has a lot of similarities with WRDSMTH’s.

London, street art, Shoreditch, guided tour, graffiti, Megzany, stencil, paste up, phone box, wall, Biplane

London, street art, Shoreditch, guided tour, graffiti, Megzany, stencil, paste up, phone box, wall, bi plane

Apart from stencils, Megzany also pasted up images evoking sentiment about objectification exploitation of women and errr mermaids, placing them in vending machines.

London, street art, Shoreditch, guided tour, graffiti, Megzany, stencil, paste up, mermaid, phone box

London, street art, Shoreditch, guided tour, graffiti, Megzany, stencil, paste up, phone box

London, street art, Shoreditch, guided tour, graffiti, Megzany, stencil, paste up, phone box, wall, dancer

London, street art, Shoreditch, guided tour, graffiti, Megzany, stencil, paste up, mermaid, phone box

A fellow LA artist Kai Aspire has also been putting up loads of art over the past couple of months in London in entirely different forms, that may be the subject of another port sometime but it is great to see artists from a city so noted for its creativity coming all the way to London to brighten up a rather dull Summer.

All photos: Dave Stuart

No Rest For The Wicked

Do you think street artists take a break over Christmas? Not a bit of it, we found some lovely fresh street art on the tour today which all appeared since yesterday.

D7606 was spied around town, for him it’s a pretty long trip to visit London and this time he brought this gorgeous collaboration with City Kitty of New York

London, Shoreditch, Street Art, tour, guide, guided, D7606, paste up, collaboration, collab, pop art

D7606 (UK) & City Kitty (NY)

Several new stencil and paste up multimedia combos from US West Coast WRDSMTH also appeared overnight, this modern world romantic twist was a new one not seen here before:

London, Shoreditch, Street Art, tour, guide, guided, Wrdsmth, paste up, multi media, stencil

WRDSMTH – instagram validation

It’s always good to see street artists seeing out the old year in style, look out for the Shoreditch Street Art Tour annual review appearing in the next few days.

Links:

D7606

WRDSMTH

All photos: Dave Stuart aka NoLionsInEngland

Not Too Cold For Street Art

After several days of freezing weather it was nice for the Shoreditch Street Art Tour to have merely “crisp” conditions on a bright clear day on Sunday. Not that a cold snap deters street artists, plenty of new street art was discovered on this morning’s tour and we start above with a beautiful paint spattered peacock on Brick lane pasted up by Bastek.

Under a railway bridge Bastek also dropped this Ali G portrait intricately stencilled on paper, another preening peacock perhaps.

London, Shoreditch, Street Art, new, Bastek, paste up, Ali G

Ali G – Bastek

Framed symbolism labelled Miah pleads “Fall in love with me”. Perhaps, but only for your art.

And unsurprisingly Sell Out had been about creating topical trash sculptures and what could be fresher than a clone trooper just ahead of the next Star Wars movie. Bet clone troopers don’t feel the cold.

London, Shoreditch, Street Art, new, Sell Out, sculpture, trash,

Trash Cloe Trooper – Sell Out

All photos: Dave Stuart aka NoLionsInEngland

Small Perfectly Formed Street Art

A biblical downpour, ice cold hailstones and a hurricane 15 minutes before the start of this afternoon’s tour may have turned me on my bike into a mobile icicle but it didn’t deter a hardy group of tour guests.

We found a tiny piece of art on a wall, a mother, her child with some beautiful hand stitched embroidery acting as a shawl, the whole thing about 6 inches from top to bottom. It was beautiful, it is poignant and the artist is anonymous.

Shoreditch, Street Art, Street artist, unknown, paste up, hand stitched, embroidery, colourful, threads, mother, child

The placement of this work is intriguing, the juxtaposition against a pair of faded Betty Page images, part of a D7606 “post box” piece bring together two power images of the roles of women.

This next specimen, clearly from the same artist, photographed earlier this week a few hundred yards further up Brick Lane had already succumbed to light fingered art collectors!

Shoreditch, Street Art, Street artist, unknown, paste up, hand stitched, embroidery, colourful, threads, mother, child