Tag Archives: Street Art Tours

illegal 0screenprint paste ups by Nylon with graffiti by Drax and Flash on decayed building front

October Street Art in Shoreditch

October ushered in a tipping point in our weather and our clothing choices changed through the gears through the month.  Autumnal colours compete with fresh new artwork on the walls and one exciting development in October was the return of visiting artists from overseas.

Enigma is a Japanese artist who was based in London for a while pre pandemic, went back to Japan and has now returned to London on a permanent basis.  I count seven murals painted since his return in August, five of which he painted this past month.

street art mural by Enigma of weeping man with head on arm

Enigma

It was fascinating to see Italian artist Alex  respond within the week to Enigma’s maudlin male with one of his own, did you spot the tear from the right eye in each?

weeping man by Alessandro Ioviera in Shoreditch

Alessandro Ioviera

It was brilliant to see graffiti legend Nylon splashing some colour on Shoreditch walls, these 3 faced pots just blew my mind.

tribal primative vases by Nylon with hint of cubism

Primative cubist objects by Nylon

Nylon was accompanied by his friend ACE, as evidenced by this screenprint which has what I believe to be a tribal primitive embellishment by Nylon.  See also the featured image at the top which includes earlier tags from graff kings Drax and Flash.

street art paste up screenprint by A.ce augmented by Nylon

Ace and Nylon

A long awaited trend we spotted this month was the return, at long last, of visiting international street artists because they truly sprinkle a dash of talent and genius on the Shoreditch streets. Stinkfish is from Columbia and has been visiting Shoreditch leaving spraypainted and pasteup art in his wake.

coloutful mural of a face in profile by street artist Stinkfish in Shoreditch

Stinkfish Mural

pasteup by Stinkfish in Shoreditch

Stinkfish pasteup

Combo CK was a new name to us and his non permissioned pasteups made a great impact for their size and beauty, his homage to “Girl With Pearl Earring” was a standout.

street art by French artist Combo in Shoreditch homage to Girl With Pearl Earring

Combo CK

Dan Kitchener yielded one long held Shoreditch spot to Stinkfish but cranked up the impressionism another notch with a new “through the rainy window” style mural at another spot.

impressionist mural of a rainy Tokyo street scene at night by street artist Dan Kitchener

Dan Kitchener

We had the pleasure of coming across the versatile Woskerski writing a graffiti piece, he found time to paint a couple of lovely pieces of art including this hound fully prepared for the change in weather.

A blurred train whizzes over a street art painting of an Afghan Hound by street artist Woskerski

Woskerski

Wrdsmth has been visiting London since 2014 to place his wry and uplifting typewritten messages on the streets of London.  He recently gave in to the irresistible charms of London and relocated en famille here and has been taking Shoreditch spots by storm.  Here he has added his clever wordplay alongside a DONK from a few months back

two illegal pasteups on a Shoreditch backstreet by Donk and Wrdsmth

Donk and Wrdsmth

Wrdsmth and Donk have both part of the posse preparing the London International Pasteup Festival, several locations were prepared in October so while technically they are within the scope of this post I am saving the best of the bunch until the November highlights as the Festival takes place next weekend 4th – 7th November.  Lets have another great month and hopefully we will see you back on the street art tour soon.

All photos: Dave Stuart

 


Origami frog painted by street artist Airborne Mark in Shoreditch

Airborne Mark Origami Street Art Painting

A couple of Sunday’s ago the Shoreditch Street Art Tour group had the pleasure of coming across Airborne Mark in the early stages of a new origami spraypainting.  Mark was as charming as ever and showed the origami model he was using as the reference for his painting.

“Can you see what it is yet?” he challenged us, just like he does you the viewer in this awesome making of video.  As the lucky group that day will testify, for all its polish and multi angles, Mark improvises and films the video yet manages to paint a masterpiece at the same time.  This video is such a pleasure to watch, I do hope you enjoy it.

Our group passed through at the point where he have completed the model outline and was just working on painting the cardboard base, pretty much the point at 2 minutes into the film where Mark explains some the challenges in painting the outline. Yes, we guessed correctly that it was going to be a frog!

The Origami model of the frog painted by street artist Airborne Mark in Shoreditch

Airborne Mark shows Shoreditch Street Art Tours his model

We have had the pleasure of bumping into Airborne Mark painting a few times down the years, we wrote a nice feature about Mark with a lot of history HERE

Just to demonstrate our lack of planning and foresight, the featured image at the top of this post is…the same as featured at the top of our September Highlights blogpost, which I suppose reflects how much we like Airborne Mark’s street art.

All photos: Dave Stuart


Street Art, review, 2010s, Graffoto.co.uk, street art tours, tour guide, political street art, Banksy, Cept, EINE, Bambi, subdued, Tom Blackford, CodeFC, Uberfubs, Extinction Rebellion

A Decade Of Political Street Art

The third of our series reflecting on the street art we have enjoyed over the past 10 years looked at the street art that appeared on our streets.

Banksy had a lot to contribute politically over the past decade of course.

Banksy, Brexit, Dover

Much of the art was done without permission though there were the occasional huge campaigning murals.

Dave The Chimp – Education Is Not A Crime

Here is a slide show showing the photos that we pulled out of our archives, the full descriptive text about the political street art is on Graffoto, our other blog

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Street Art, review, 2010s, Graffoto.co.uk, street art tours, tour guide, political street art, Banksy, Cept, EINE, Bambi, subdued, Tom Blackford, CodeFC, Uberfubs, Extinction Rebellion

Banksy – If Graffiti Changed Anything, It Would Be Illegal, London 2011

Part 1 of the Decade 2010 reviews looked at where Street Art was in 2020: here

Part 2 was a look back at spectacular murals: here

All photos: Dave Stuart, principal guide and founder, Shoreditch Street Art Tours

 


Street Art, review, 2010, Graffoto.co.uk, street art tours, tour guide

10 years After

Can you believe the decade is over?  Our sister blog Graffoto has been looking at street art for the whole of the decade, looking back fondly over what has amazed us, where and how the art was created and by whom.

Street Art, review, 2010, Graffoto.co.uk, street art tours, tour guide

MIghty Mo, Goldpeg

Its going to be a series of thematic blog posts, looking at say murals, sculpture, non permissioned art… and more.  To be honest, until we write it we don’t know what it’s going to cover but it will be great.

Street Art, review, 2010, Graffoto.co.uk, street art tours, tour guide

Herakut

This isn’t a list of the top 50, or the “best of”, because for starters it is generally based on what we actually experienced but with occasional reference to scene as it developed elsewhere.   It starts with a look at street art in Shoreditch at the start of the decade, just so you can see in the subsequent posts who much things have developed since.

Street Art, review, 2010, Graffoto.co.uk, street art tours, tour guide

Isaac Cordal

The full text supporting each of the images and why they were definitive is including in the Graffoto blog, written by the same author in case you were unsure, here is a slide show of the visuals that defined our landscape back in 2010.

Street Art, review, 2010, Graffoto.co.uk, street art tours, tour guide

Antony Lister

Remember to follow to pick up the full series and do tell your friends.

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Links:

Graffoto “The Decade Is Dead, Long Live The Decade

All photos: Dave Stuart


Street Art vs Brexit

Yesterday evening the UK’s parliament voted to show that they had not changed their mind since December on a withdrawal agreement that hadn’t changed since December.  Street artists have not been impressed with the political process over the past three months, nor indeed the past three years or so.

Artist Not Known, March 2019

“Bye Bye” says an anonymous artist who spotted a gate in Shoreditch conveniently painted EU flag blue. This flag with one member missing piece echoes Banksy’s enormous EU flag with a tromp l’oeil worker chipping away a star brilliantly greeting UK leavers as they depart through Dover.

Banksy, Street art, mural, Dover, Brexit, EU Flag, painter, ladder, stencil

Banksy, Dover June 2017

It was noticeable and disappointing how little political street art appeared during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign. The most memorable from a very small entry list were these spoofs on the adverts for Banksy’s street art documentary “Exit Through The Gift Shop” lampooning Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.

Boris Johnson, Artist Not Known, June 2016

Nigel Farage, Artist Not Known, June 2016

Since then we have seen a ramping up of the Brexit street art as the unthinkable went from implausible to likely to now pretty much unavoidable.

Brexit Through The Chip Shop – CodeFC, June 2017

Scrap Brexit – Uberfubs, 2018

In the aftermath of the referendum result the immediate targets for street art scorn and derision were David Cameron, Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson, the architects and chief pom-pom wavers for the Leave cause.

Spineless Nigel Farage, UKIP party by MCLN, August 2016

Boris Johnson buffoon, fuckwit, bellend, racist, snob by Boo Who Up North

3 Brexiteers – Derek Davis (gone), Boris Johnson (missing inaction), Jacob Rees Mogg by Subdude, April 2018

Boris Johnson is DUMBO by K-Guy

The political paralysis and consequential insertion of heads into the sand really gained a head of steam in December.

Scrap Brexit – Uberfubs, Dec 2018

Theresa May faced a vote of no confidence by her own party after cancelling the first so-called “meaningful vote” in December

Street Art, Shoreditch, London, Street Art Tour, Political Art, Joe Bloggs, Jonesy, Theresa May, Brexit,

Maygo by Joe Bloggs, Dec 2018

I was recently obliged to take a few weeks away from the walls and pavements of Shoreditch and on resuming street meanderings last weekend I was bowled over by the amount of Brexit street art that appeared in that short absence.

The duo Quiet British Accent belatedly brought George V into the debate.

Quiet British Accent – Bugger Brexit, last weekend

Theyen Rich aka Corrosive 8 deploys the sound political debating stratgey of making your opponent look simultaneously stupid and obscene, the Prime Minster’s watersports would certainly rate triple X. He also borrows the buses to nowhere from anarcho-punk artist Jamie Reid and adds a Carrie Reichardt slogan.

>Mistress Theresa’s Golden Shower – Corrosive 8, last weekend

Corrosive 8 with nod to Jamie Reid & Carrie Reichardt, last weekend

Benjamin Irritant’s rabbit asks a very pointed rhetorical question, is it great again yet?

Benjamin Irritant, last weekend

The Misfortuneteller has developed a witty street cartoon style in the past couple of years, this largest piece to date borrows its style from a closing down sale, its simplicity belying the fact that it is emphasizing the gap between the Brexiteer’s promises of “the easiest trade deals ever negotiated” against the visibly increasing isolation the country faces with borders and barriers hardening, no deals and inward investment evaporating.

Britain Closing – The Misfortuneteller, March 20219

Subdude, producer of a lot of Brexit related art over the past few years, has deviated from his usual distinctive style of political humour on flat colour blocks to deliver a hand drawn condemnation of petty sectarian spats, photos and cartoons on newspaper pages make it clear who is the target of the jibe. Apparently Subdude has put six out on the streets but so far I have only found three, one of which overlays a political cartoon illustrating Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn both facing a common dilemma, Brexit actually threatening to irreparably split both of the UK’s main political parties. Ironically, in order to placate their parties both are having to turn away from the fact that neither actually supports the position they politically obliged to adopt, we live in weird times.

Subdude, March 2019

Cigarette packet health warnings have been used as the basis for political street art for over 10 years, in fact almost since the regulations came in in 2003, think K-Guy in the mid 2000s. Wanker’s Of The World, whose mission is to identify and award that sobriquet to suitable candidates in the public eye are responsible for enormous cigarette packets mocking the main proponents of the Brexiteers. There are apparently 6, we located 5 in the past week. Ironically, the adoption of those cigarette packet warnings is actually an EU law which mandates the format, size and range of messages in all EU countries.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, chair “European Research Group”. Brexit Can Be Fatal, last week

Theresa May, Brexit Causes Family Arguments (who’s putting out the bins?)

Street Art, Shoreditch, London, Brick Lane, street artists, graffiti, tours, Miss KK, Sell Out, Northern Southner, Agos_Art, Catmousey9, Subdude, political art, EU art, Brexit art,

Boris Johnson, Brexit harms your children

Michael Gove, Quit Brexit Now

IN the interests of fairnessm here is a comprehensive review of all the pro Brexit street art seen since 2016:

 

Who knows what the monkeys in the chamber are going to do next, certainly they don’t!

Banksy Bristol Museum Poster 2009

This is a condensed version of a blog post that originally appeared on Graffoto blog

LINKS:

Banksy website

CodeFC Instagram

Uberfubs Instagram

MCLN Instagram

Boo Who Up North Instagram

Subdude  Instagram

K-Guy Instagram

Joe Bloggs Instagram

Quiet British Accent Instagram

Benjamin Irritant Instagram

The Misfortuneteller Instagram

Wankers Of The World website

All Photos: Dave Stuart


Street Artist Xenz Exhibits At Nelly Duff

Former guests who have received follow up information about the tours will have noticed Nelly Duff listed as a key gallery.  Last week the amazing street artist and highly collectable urban artist Xenz opened a fresh show at Nelly Duff under the title xEnso.

xEnso, Nelly Duff Gallery

Elegance is a word that sits very comfortably in a description of a Xenz painting though the graffiti writer always lurks among the branches, literally.  As a graffiti writer the letterform must reign paramount and outdoors Xenz produces stunning landscape paintings with his name cunningly disguised within the branches and trees.

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

Meeting Of Styles, Shoreditch, 2009

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

Hackney Wick, with Busk, 2011

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

Meeting Of Styles, Nomadic Community Gardens, 2018 – This young boy was entranced by this Xenz artwork

The circular paintings were inspired by the zen buddist ensō symbol, ensō circles capture a concept of fulfilment, calm, strength and most particularly, elegance and enlightenment.

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

xEnso, Nelly Duff Gallery

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

xEnso, Nelly Duff Gallery

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

xEnso, Nelly Duff Gallery

A collection of beautiful watery paintings on handmade paper discs roughly a foot in diameter were painted in a very gestural manner; simple colours , dots, lines and drips were applied and left as they fell, no corrections, no smoothing of curves or sharpening of edges and a sense of grace and flow in the finished article is clear.

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

xEnso, Nelly Duff Gallery

The paintings in the show may look a million miles from any graffiti aesthetic but look closely, again the letters are subtly secreted inside the lines of the flora.

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

Golden Mist

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

Golden Mist with lettering highlighted (photoshopped, with apologies to Xenz!)

Xenz’z interior art has often featured wispy forest fronds and filaments frequented by flying fauna.  The colourful birds flitting through the branches and hovering in front of soft petals are based on humming birds.  This goes back to an occasion when Xenz was enjoying some traditional hospitality high up a Jamaican mountain when a humming bird flitted out of the forest canopy to perch on his finger like it owned it.   A few magical seconds and some herb imprinted the experience in Xenz’z mind and thence into his art.

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

The Golden Branch

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

Turquoise Dreams

Street art, urban art, Xenz, xEnso, Nelly Duff gallery, Shoreditch, London, street art tours

Flutter

The show runs until Thursday 8th November.  Nelly Duff is open late every Thursday.

This blog post is an extract of a post published on Graffoto, same author

Links:

Xenz  website

Nelly Duff website

156 Columbia Road, London, E2 7RG

all photos: Dave Stuart (instagram)


Street Art, photography, Shoreditch, Street Art Tours, East End, London,Clet Abraham

Shoreditch Street Art Tours Guest Photographs

Shoreditch’s street art is incredibly photogenic, lending itself to sensational colourful images whether you are using a camera phone or a full frame ultra high spec digital SLR.

On a recent tour Robert Benson brought along a lovely Nikon which happens to be the same camera I use when I am out photographing street art on days when I am not leading street art tours.  Robert has sent over a selection of the lovely photographs that he took on his visit and Shoreditch Street Art Tours is delighted to share them with you, thank you Robert.

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Photographs: Robert Benson