After not making it past Stonehaven last year (a small fishing village 15 miles South of Aberdeen) I found myself in London for a few days with tickets to see The Twilight Sad. Of course there's always lots to do and being based in Shoreditch meant seeing lots of street art!
Its interesting to see how fast things change on Brick Lane but also how some works seem to become part of the fabric of the area with old pieces by ROA and DSCREET outlasting a lot of other artworks. Doors, windows, shutters and walls all make for interesting canvases with large scale mural works by ThisOne, Muretz and BK Foxx scattered across the borough. I even managed to spot a few familiar faces as one of Jaune's mini dudes sat upon his broom, keeping the Brick Lane alleys clean and high up you could spot a Jake or two by Lost Hills.
Further explorations brought us into contact with a few artists we've only ever connected to via instagram so its great to catch their work in real life with Hello the Mushrooms skull paste ups just about hanging on whilst DONKs new work stood out a mile with its bright colours and I had to do a double take at the giant RX Skulls street sign, complete with giant googly eyes! I was also chuffed to see a healthy number of fresh Sweet Toof pieces as he'd recently returned to London for a short trip but left a nice trail of pink gums in his wake.
We managed to hook up with friends from Hookedblog (London's no 1 street art blog and resource in my humble opinion) and Nuart Aberdeen trouble maker Dr.D aka Subvertiser. You maye recognise Ds subverted news ads from his numerous interventions in Aberdeen which saw him replace bus shelter posters along Union Street and pasting onto any blank surface he could find. We had a good chat in the pub about his background and roots in the London street art scene, being a veteran of some 20 years. Tales of lost Banksy's and late night adventures abounded before we set off on our own little paste up mission, canvasing as many spots as we could in a hour. It was really great to catch up with the guys and to continue some of the conversations from Nuart Aberdeen down saaf.
With our trip in mind, I decided to take some posters with me as I continue to develop my own street animations. The current version involves 8 posters which when sequenced together create a rotating pyramid, one of my favourite shapes and the first one in the series I've painted way back in 2015 during the Temporary Studio residency at Ruthrieston. The first gif is a set pasted up in Aberdeen while the second is the London version. I really loved the variety of spots and backgrounds in London as you can see below.
Along with my own work I pasted up a few extra pieces by KMG and a few of my Wave riso prints. At one point whilst pasting up a fresh one a street art tour appeared just up ahead and I was able to eavesdrop. From what I could tell the guide didn't sound that knowledgeable so I just carried on putting up my posters. Indeed as street art continues to be exploited and used for personal gain (see Revok vs H&M and currently Jeff Soto vs Mercedes Benz), its good to know folk like Doug from Fifth Wall TV and Mark from Hookedblog are documenting and covering the scene for the right reasons, because they care and love it!
With only 4 days we tried to squeeze in as much as possible and managed a short visit and catch up with Adam Brigland at Jealous London. With their new show 'Hell Is Other People' having just opened the night before, the Jealous team were a little fragile but Adam still took the time to show us some of their current print projects up in the main studio before heading onto the roof to check out the latest rooftop artist The Misfortune Teller who just so happened to be an old friend of Marys. The Jealous rooftop is a pretty special rotating mural spot which has been graced by some of the biggest names in the game from personal favourites Reka to Kid Acne and has also hosted a special Ken piece by KMG. However our plans to see the latest work were scuppered as the Misfortune Teller had installed a series of text balloons which had mysteriously disappeared. Some blame Brexit, others blame the wind!
The show in the Jealous Gallery was a real highlight with a staff showcase featuring work from each of the Jealous team. Of course working in a specialist print studio the work was mostly print based but Adam did have one of his special wooden text signs on display which even in the gallery setting has a great impact. We picked up a few riso prints and the quarterly Jealous Newspaper and was amazed to see Jealous has just celebrated their own milestone birthday turning 10. They've had a huge impact not just in London but across the globe and its not suprising with such a cool and dedicated team. Here's to ten more!
Another gallery highlight came from the 'Good Grief Charley Brown and Peanuts' exhibition at Somerset House. There's been quite a few fantastic shows that'd I'd hoped to see but for whatever reason had missed out so I was especially pleased to see this show on its last day. Of course that meant massive crowds and the merch shop was in a sad state but the actual show was pretty special. Featuring early work by Peanuts creator Charles M Schulz and leading into the familiar cast of Charley Brown, the show served to celebrate the infamous neurotic and his dog but also highlighted some of the special qualities that made Schulzs work so vitally important.
From strong female characters, the inclusion of a black character as more than just a token gesture (the letters with his colleague about this issue were really nice to read) to Charley Brown himself, a confused kid constantly trying to make sense of his life, it all seems like a good fit for 2019. In fact we tried to visit the Tate Modern an hour before seeing this show and I definitely needed some therapy to help me after, lesson learned,never Tate on a Saturday! Of course another huge part of the appeal with Peanuts show is the fantastic array of old merchandise, from snoopy in his space suit to anti war badges, books, records and of course toys. Along with original sketches and comic strips the show featured some modern homages from Kaws (who's work recently sold at auction for 15 million dollars) and Mark Chronic. A fantastic show and retrospective for a fantastic human.
Although not an art show per se we did check out Sketch, the infamous Mayfair restaurant where the high tea room walls are completely filled with original works by David Shrigley. The restaurant is in high demand so pre booking is essential whether for a proper sit down meal or the high tea that we opted for. And there's good reason for it as the place was jammed full of people soaking up the rather Wes Andersonian atmosphere of the room, with its pink walls and the staff all kitted out in matching outfits according to their role. I won't say anymore as if you are planning to visit its nice to be suprised. But the bathroom is amazing!
We also checked out a few galleries in Mayfair and saw a fantastic show by Geta Brătescu at the Hauser & Wirth gallery with 'The Power of the Line'. The Kaws window at Dior proved popular with hypebeasts lining up to take selfies and videos of the moving window display featuring suited pink Kaws companions. I have to admit it looked pretty cool. Lazinc had an interesting show of work from caligrafitti master eL Seed although it didn't quite have the same impact as his street work but still showcased his impeccable brush skills. From millionaires row to skid row, we headed back to Brick Lane and Columbia Road to check out Stolen Space, Pure Evil and Nelly Duff Gallery. The jump from street art in galleries to street art galleries was quite welcome but ill save those three for a separate post as there's too much to speak about here.
And what about The Twilight Sad? With a brand new album and being almost a decade since I'd last seen them live. Well I was totally blown away. Despite being unable to see the band due to my poor vision and being at the very back of the venue, it sounded incredible, the passion and raw power still there as it was 10 years ago but with a confidence that helped bring the show to a new level. The audience in London lapped up every minute of it and the band responded making for the perfect gig experience. Youtube videos very rarely capture the greatness of a live gig but here's a clip anyway just in case you're not familiar with The Twilight Sad.
London is always refreshing, exhilarating and a little exhausting. On my last visit in 2017 I came home feeling a little non plussed as the once enthralling streets of Brick Lane had lost a bit of their appeal. But with new friends to visit and a desire to explore a bit further it reignited the spark a bit. With a return tripped planned for the end of April I'm sure ill have a lot more to write and I'd better get busy making some new posters, be a shame not to keep up the habit!
Its interesting to see how fast things change on Brick Lane but also how some works seem to become part of the fabric of the area with old pieces by ROA and DSCREET outlasting a lot of other artworks. Doors, windows, shutters and walls all make for interesting canvases with large scale mural works by ThisOne, Muretz and BK Foxx scattered across the borough. I even managed to spot a few familiar faces as one of Jaune's mini dudes sat upon his broom, keeping the Brick Lane alleys clean and high up you could spot a Jake or two by Lost Hills.
We managed to hook up with friends from Hookedblog (London's no 1 street art blog and resource in my humble opinion) and Nuart Aberdeen trouble maker Dr.D aka Subvertiser. You maye recognise Ds subverted news ads from his numerous interventions in Aberdeen which saw him replace bus shelter posters along Union Street and pasting onto any blank surface he could find. We had a good chat in the pub about his background and roots in the London street art scene, being a veteran of some 20 years. Tales of lost Banksy's and late night adventures abounded before we set off on our own little paste up mission, canvasing as many spots as we could in a hour. It was really great to catch up with the guys and to continue some of the conversations from Nuart Aberdeen down saaf.
Along with my own work I pasted up a few extra pieces by KMG and a few of my Wave riso prints. At one point whilst pasting up a fresh one a street art tour appeared just up ahead and I was able to eavesdrop. From what I could tell the guide didn't sound that knowledgeable so I just carried on putting up my posters. Indeed as street art continues to be exploited and used for personal gain (see Revok vs H&M and currently Jeff Soto vs Mercedes Benz), its good to know folk like Doug from Fifth Wall TV and Mark from Hookedblog are documenting and covering the scene for the right reasons, because they care and love it!
The show in the Jealous Gallery was a real highlight with a staff showcase featuring work from each of the Jealous team. Of course working in a specialist print studio the work was mostly print based but Adam did have one of his special wooden text signs on display which even in the gallery setting has a great impact. We picked up a few riso prints and the quarterly Jealous Newspaper and was amazed to see Jealous has just celebrated their own milestone birthday turning 10. They've had a huge impact not just in London but across the globe and its not suprising with such a cool and dedicated team. Here's to ten more!
From strong female characters, the inclusion of a black character as more than just a token gesture (the letters with his colleague about this issue were really nice to read) to Charley Brown himself, a confused kid constantly trying to make sense of his life, it all seems like a good fit for 2019. In fact we tried to visit the Tate Modern an hour before seeing this show and I definitely needed some therapy to help me after, lesson learned,never Tate on a Saturday! Of course another huge part of the appeal with Peanuts show is the fantastic array of old merchandise, from snoopy in his space suit to anti war badges, books, records and of course toys. Along with original sketches and comic strips the show featured some modern homages from Kaws (who's work recently sold at auction for 15 million dollars) and Mark Chronic. A fantastic show and retrospective for a fantastic human.
We also checked out a few galleries in Mayfair and saw a fantastic show by Geta Brătescu at the Hauser & Wirth gallery with 'The Power of the Line'. The Kaws window at Dior proved popular with hypebeasts lining up to take selfies and videos of the moving window display featuring suited pink Kaws companions. I have to admit it looked pretty cool. Lazinc had an interesting show of work from caligrafitti master eL Seed although it didn't quite have the same impact as his street work but still showcased his impeccable brush skills. From millionaires row to skid row, we headed back to Brick Lane and Columbia Road to check out Stolen Space, Pure Evil and Nelly Duff Gallery. The jump from street art in galleries to street art galleries was quite welcome but ill save those three for a separate post as there's too much to speak about here.
London is always refreshing, exhilarating and a little exhausting. On my last visit in 2017 I came home feeling a little non plussed as the once enthralling streets of Brick Lane had lost a bit of their appeal. But with new friends to visit and a desire to explore a bit further it reignited the spark a bit. With a return tripped planned for the end of April I'm sure ill have a lot more to write and I'd better get busy making some new posters, be a shame not to keep up the habit!
