Nice graf resource

Came across a really nice site today that I've not seen before. Some fantastic pieces up in a gallery. I especially liked this stuff, and the style/colour.

Anyway, here's the link...
http://www.ekosystem.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=6096
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Bits & pieces from Rotterdam

A nice job on this street workers caravan

Ramon's magnificent 4 story building.
There's some pics and a feature on him doing this last year here:
http://ruafestival.org/blog/2009/09/29/577/

Noticed a few nicely detailed hand cut-outs in Central

Placed art by *funk25 (click on image to enlarge)
Unfortunately someone had taken the tile next to this one.

Here's a little snip of some of the Rotterdam stuff. Some very nice walls and some great stencils, which will feature in posts to come, but here's a taste in the meantime...
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Rotterdam electricity box

Electrics front: (click on image to enlarge)

Electrics side: (click on image to enlarge)

I've been interested with some of the artists in London using those electricity boxes as their canvases, and it appears to be a popular medium in Holland too. You'd expect to see them covered in stickers for sure, but ground level stencil work is always a bonus...

Here's a couple of pieces I really liked on the same box - one on the front, one on the side.
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Another Tall Story from Rotterdam

Oneo wall. (click on image to enlarge)

Oneo wall. Detail (click on image to enlarge)

Oneo wall. Detail (click on image to enlarge)

Happy snaps: cheer up matie - you're on holiday

Thought I'd chuck up a few pics of this building we'd seen on our way into Rotterdam central. Thanks to Jen's fantastic sense of direction we found the spot again, so you get to enjoy as much as we did.
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Four stories high in Rotterdam

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Caught this nice piece on our way out of Holland. Impressive size and detail. Check it out in the following pics - some nice techniques employed here inc. some great texture effects. The artist is Onesto. There was a plaque at the bottom saying "Dier Gaar Desingel" if that means anything to anyone?

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On the streets of Rotterdam

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On the tail of our recent trip to Holland we stopped for a night and day in the port town of Rotterdam. I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised. The port is utterly huge, the largest in Europe actually, and until 2004 was the worlds busiest until it was out-bussied by Shanghai.

Well, that's enough of a history/geography lesson, so here's what you came for... the graf. There was quite a bit of it around the city, so I'll feature it in the coming month. Let's just start with this wall - a collaboration between Dstruct Collective, Lastplak and Others with some help from our own London Police. Nice.
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Shepard Fairey from the archive

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Have just been dredging through the vaults of old pics when I came across this Shephard Fairley pic from earlier in the year. Not sure why I never posted it up on UE sooner, but here you go - better late than never. From memory, I shot it in early April this year near Chiswick in London when I was out and about with Ross. Anyway, hope you enjoy.
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K&D session at Roundhouse London

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Last Friday night saw a bunch of us head to the Roundhouse in Camden for dynamic Austrian duo Kruder and Dorfmeister.

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The ultra-cool bass-loving production geniuses hit the Roundhouse for their first ever London live show! Known for redefining the art of the remix as much as their originals, they showcased why they've attained their international status, coming as they do from a country with a rich history of musical innovation.

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The set they played was awesome. The visuals were the best I've seen all year (if not in the last few...) and the vibe was, well, slightly older and discerning. I could write a review, but David Taylor from the Guardian has done a much better job than I ever could...

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"There's always a concern when producers opt to swap the dark anonymity and hermit-like existence of the recording studio for the bright lights of a "live" stage. Just what are we punters to expect? Electronic music by its very nature involves little in the way of live instrumentation – and everything to the mastery of manipulating banks of coloured knobs in grey boxes. It's hardly an enticing proposition for the traditional gig-goer.

Step forward Kruder & Dorfmeister, Austrian uber-producers and the ice cool duo behind G-Stone recordings. The label's trademark bass-heavy but lush tunes are as likely to be played as background to a hip dinner party than at an underground club. And judging by the largely 30-something crowd politely exchanging small talk before the lights dimmed at the Roundhouse, dessert rather than dancing appears to be a more pressing concern to some.

But, as soon as the first dull throb of bass punches through the darkness and MC Earl Zinger bowls on to the stage, the venue is transformed into the coolest of clubs.

K&D take centre stage amid a constantly morphing, at times retina-scarring light show, that puts just about every other electronica act to shame. The breathtaking visuals provide the perfect psychedelic backdrop to a set that effortlessly blends the best of the pair's past, present and future tunes.

Kicking off with a version of Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" before taking in highlights from the classic K&D Sessions album – including superb remixes of Bomb the Bass's "Bug Powder Dust" and Depeche Mode's "Useless" – the duo effortlessly engage the crowd.

Throw in a tongue-in-cheek encore of "Let it Be" – with the lyrics changed to "speaking words of wisdom – K&D", and you can't help but leave the gig with a smile on your face and a spring in your step."

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C215 in Amsterdam

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Well folks, I'm using this as a segway between my last post and my next several, which will feature the best of my recent week with Jen in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

I knew that C215 had done some work in Amsterdam, but do you think we could find it? Well, after searching long and hard, and stopping into coffee shops often for breaks, we did come across a piece or two indeed...

The next several posts will be stuff from this trip, although I'll try to pick the best of so as not to bore you (I took about 250 shots), so there was a wealth of graf there inc. some lovely pieces from artists from all over the world.

Watch this space for weekly updates...
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Whoop, whoop for the big 200...

C215 down Blackall St (click on image to enlarge)

C215 outside his solo show at Signal Gallery on Curtain Rd

earlier this year (click on image to enlarge)

Alice on electric box down Blackall St (click on image to enlarge)


Alice piece down Blackall St (click on image to enlarge)


Blackall St, E2, London (click on image to enlarge)

Blackall St (click on map to enlarge)

Well folks, It's time for a little celebration. Urban-escapades 200th post. I was very enthusiastic when I began this project, but never thought it'd become what it has. Ok - it's a hobby, a fascination, a labour of love, a passion, but there must be a significant number of you who also share my passion (over 9,500 unique visitors to this site so far), so I'm glad to be able to share it with you.

For this post I'm going to share a little London secret with you. A small Shoreditch alleyway called Blackall St. There are 2 reasons for Blackall St being my 200th post. First being: it's a great little alley way which features the creme of the street art scene in an always changing kaleidascope of talent. The second being: one of those artists - one of my favs at the moment... C215.

C215, or Christian Guemy, is an extremely talented stencil artist I've been following (and featuring) for a few years now. Christian is a 36 year old Parisian resident, but spends much of his time traveling the globe with his work, bringing joy to all that find it. His distinctive style of portraiture sets him apart from the rest - an inspiration to artist and artistic observer alike.

Rather than cut and paste the highlights of his illustrious career from a variety of sources, I thought I'd provide you with a link where you can browse a selection of interviews from the likes of Wooster Clooective, Graffiti Art Magazine, Artasty.com etc, and also check out collections of works from around the world.

Link here: http://www.flickr.com/people/C215

Thanks everyone for stopping by, and I look forward to your continued support. Please take a moment when you get a chance and look back through these archives. Kind regards, Mish.

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Delete in London/Brighton

I know, I know - I've been really slack and not updating urban-escapades much lately, but I've been busy alright...

Dirty Si was briefly in London over the w/e and when we were walking around Kings Cross on saturday I spotted this Delete piece between Angel and KC. I've chucked it up with a piece that I snapped at The Beautiful and The Canned in Brighton in May.

Delete near Pentonville Road (click on image to enlarge)

Delete in Brighton (click on image to enlarge)

Now you may or may not realise, but this is post number 199, so the next post will be a special bumper Brighton special featuring pics from The Beautiful and the Canned weekend extravaganza in May. I'll also be celebrating over 7,000 unique visitors to the site as well - quite a feat if I say so myself. Stay tuned...
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Reverse graffiti in Sao Paolo

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A friend from Wellington recently sent me a link on reverse graffiti. I had been familiar with it when some pictures were doing the rounds a year or two ago featuring Ronaldinho on the back of dirty car windows, but this story sparked my intregue again, so I thought I'd throw it up.

Here's the article as it appeared on the environmentalgraffiti.com website:

Welcome to the world of reverse graffiti, where the artist’s weapons are cleaning materials and where the enemy is the elements: wind, rain, pollution and decay. It’s an art form that removes dust or dirt rather than adding paint. Some find it intriguing, beguiling, beautiful and imaginative, whereas others look upon it in much the same way as traditional graffiti – a complete lack of respect for the law. Reverse graffiti challenges ideals and perceptions while at the same time shapes and changes the environment in which we live, whether people think for the better, or not.

Alexandre Orion - Skulls in Sao Paolo

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Hailing from Brazil, Alexandre sees his art work as a way of getting an environmental message across to those who ordinarily wouldn’t listen. A few years ago he adorned a transport tunnel in Sao Paolo with a mural consisting of a series of skulls to remind drivers of the detrimental impact their emissions have on the planet.

The Brazilian authorities were incensed but couldn’t actually charge him with anything so they instead cleaned the tunnel. At first the cleaned only the parts Alexandre had cleared but after the artist switched to the opposite wall they had to clean that too. In the end, the authorities decided to wash every tunnel in the city, missing the irony completely, it seems.

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There's also a nice vid accompanying the story via youtube.
Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwsBBIIXT0E&feature=player_embedded

There is a lot of gorilla graf happening now, from reverse graf to gorilla gardening (see previous posts from Canada). Nice to see peoples creativity transcending boundaries.

thanks to environmentalgraffiti.com for the pics and words.
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Shepard Fairey goes big in New York

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Pulled this off the Wooster Collective site this morning. No info with it, but the scale of this thing is huge. The same style/characters as the piece I shot in Chiswick (of all places). I'll find that shot and chuck it up with this in an update when I remember where I've archived it to. Pic by by Cameron Schiller.
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Clegg support in Finsbury Park

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A friend came across this Nick Clegg step and repeat stencil work in Finsbury Park. Who would have thought the FP massive were Lib Dem supporters! Thanks for the pic Abby.
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Penguin by Flood

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Really liked this take on the classic Penguin Publishing log on the side of the ArtRepublic gallery. Second pic features the C215 stencil too, which is featured later in the blog.
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CCTV stencil in Brighton

Not sure who the artist is (looks a bit like Cassette Lord's style tho) but cleaver positioning of this stencil right under a CCTV! Ha - the cheek of it...
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Wolf stencil Brighton

Snapped this small stencil piece down a small alley off the main shopping area - ironically enough just along from a little sex shop, but there were a few around town.
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Cassette Lord in Brighton

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More pics from the Brighton trip. Love this guys style and content. The works appear mostly on those electrical box things. Unfortunately shot most of it at night so the pics are a bit ropey, I'll see if I can fix em up in Photoshop, but you get the gist...
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