Secret Wars NY v London announce date

Secret Wars have just announced the date for their NY v London battle. June 17 looks like the finals date, and will feature Teck1, Jimi Crayon and Alfa representing London v NY finest (tbc).

The battle will also be supported with another battle day featuring Secret Wars v Art Battles, and a Secret Wars hip hop festival. Would love to be there to check that one out. Donations gratefully accepted for the cause.
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Secret Wars Glasgow: England v Scotland

(left) London's Jimi & Tecks v Scotlands Conzo & Vues (right)

It was a close battle with both teams flexing different styles, Jimi and Teck flew in just hours before the battle so they were jet lagged but as usual the gents morphed up a beautifully clean, bold and well composed battle piece taking a striking lead from the start. The Scots, Vues and Conzo brought two different styles to the table stirring up a tasty Glasgow flavoured inky broth!

In the end the Scots managed to scoop a win on their home turf with the judging as follows:
• Crowd Vote (an obvious one!) - Scotland
• Judge 1 (Amy from the Recoat Gallery) - England
• Judge 2 (Australian Graffiti Artist ‘Smug’) – Scotland

Check out the official Secret Wars Website for updates and other battles happening in a city near you throughout the rest of the world. Also stay updated with the Scottish Secret Wars blog as pictures and videos from Friday’s battle will be added soon.
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Secret Wars official London finals night photo

(click to enlarge)

Ha! I love it when you (I) end up in the official photo for an event that I have really enjoyed being a part of. See if you can spot me sitting in front of the Monorex section...

Havana 100 minutes final (review)

Monorex detail (click to enlarge)

Well, I was lucky enough to score a last minute guest list pass to Havana 100 minutes Secret Wars final at Village Underground's awesome 5,000 sqm space in Shoreditch last night (mucho gratsi Emma/Balance PR). The gig kicked off with the usual hour or so of schmoozing with free cocktails courtesy of Havana Club, fantastic finger foods from JJ Catering, and some pretty nice dj styles from dj Session & friends.

Celebrating street art and Cuban culture in a creative and original style, Monorex v Intercity art-off began about 8pm, and ran for 100 minutes with a giant projection of the logo on the far wall acting as the clock (1 of the 100 pieces disappearing every minute) until the final countdown. The cocktail barmen and waiting staff were run ragged as the arty/streety/trendy/wanky punters packed the space and consumed as much free shit as their little faces could manage.

Intercity detail (click to enlarge)

Style-wise, in my opinion, Monorex kicked Intercity's ass, with a strong, considered piece created by the 5 artists using a fantastic style and solidity of line and colour. Intercity seemed to have 5 artists all working independently of each other, using a weak, almost single weight of line and a definite naive aesthetic. The only apparent point of teamwork for Intercity was at the beginning, when they painted a giant target in the background of their area, and at the end, when they paint bombed their entire piece (and the audience) with watered down red acrylic paint balls.

Judging (click to enlarge)

Judging was carried out by some members of the judging panel, and by the audience (measured with a decibel meter.

Monorex detail (click to enlarge)

Monorex detail (click to enlarge)

The party rolled on into the night, a good time had by all. My camera is completely stuffed now, so had to rely on my phone for the pics from the night - sorry, even photoshop can't help a pic that's shite to start with. I'm sure more pics will be posted up by others soon, as soon as their rum hangover wears off...