Street Art in Shoreditch
We went on a street art walk one Februrary afternoon around Shoreditch, and it was cool seeing some of the work I was familiar with like Stik, Thierry, and Invader, as well as discover new street artists that I haven’t heard of before. There is a big Jewish community surrounding this area, and the plaques below the street signs are the phonetic pronunciations of the street names for those who get lost.
The image on the left reads "Comfort of the modern slave" by Axel Void. Thierry Noir (on the right) is a French artist who is claimed to be the first to paint the Berlin Wall:
Right next to/above Thierry's work you could see Invader's square ceramic tiles inspired by video game characters.
Below is Nathan Bowen's work, known for his quick and dynamic sketches:
One of ROA's rodent's mixed in with other works:
We passed by a large hedgehog by ROA, but being an idiot I forgot to take a photo.
Lily Mixe's work is inspired by nature and in particular the ocean. The subjects are otherworldly, showing how beautiful and complex life on Earth can be, and how much of our own planet is unknown and undiscovered.
Below we see Stik's stick figure looking down at his arm "cut-off" from the run-down building. On top of the figure, you can see one of Christiaan Nagel’s many mushrooms that has been installed all throughout London, symbolizing how street art, like mushrooms, grow spontaneously but are transient and short-lived at the same time.
At the end of the tour we went to the Unit 5 Gallery, and I throughly enjoyed the pieces exhibited there.
Unfortunately we did not run into any Banksy nor Shepard Fairey's pieces during this walk (which only gives me a reason to come back in the future). It is upsetting to know that authority gets rid of art because it is considered illegal, despite how compelling they are. You never really know when these powerful messages will vanish.
Sidenote: If you get hungry and want good salt beef + bagels, go to Beigel Bake (it's open 24/7)!
Until Next time!
Audey
