Friday 20 September 2019

On My Travels - Padova and Venice



Padova in Italy, also known as Padua, has serious fresco spots. The boy Giotto nailed it about 800 years ago with his chapel at Scrovegeni. A fine example of permissioned wall painting, supported by a rich patron and assisted by a cast of forty other painters over a period of two years. Parallels with the support Lee B and Global Street Art provide to muralists in London are just inescapable.

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Giotto, Scrovegeni


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Connectivity Mural, Shoreditch, managed by Global Street Art. More here


What is less obvious is that an ancient centre of learning like Padova supports a thriving culture of non permissioned street art. Certainly my wife hadn’t anticipated that when she picked Padova and Venice for a short break and I traveled with expectations close to zero and trending downwards. This post is about stuff you find by chance on your travels when you keep your eyes peeled.

Within minutes of dumping our bags in our charming Padova hotel, street art in dark corners started catching the eye and it became apparent that stencilism was the art technique of choice.

Artist unknown Love Across The University, Padova
Artist unknown Love Across The University, Padova


The stencil game in Padua is generally very old school, the kind that dominated the scene in London before the visits of the French stencilists in the mid 2000s. The reasons for this are not hard to fathom, lots of young students means rebellious, politically charged art aficionados with a burning desire to champion political causes and a willingness to take brazen risks. Lots of old buildings and historic walls with low numbers of permission walls or tolerated street art locations dictates that speed is of the essence. The solution just has to be stencils.

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Artist - unknown but prolific


These skulls were so 2005 and they were everywhere.

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Artist unknown


I loved the mysterious fish bone skeletons which kept swimming into view. Some are stencilled, some sprayed freehand; some are lone predators, some hunt in shoals. Some are even reverse stencilled. No idea who the artist is but I salute the glorious madness of the concept.

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Artist unknown


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Artist unknown


Within Padova there was clear evidence that some artists were striving for a higher level of stencil accomplishment. Kenny Random (awesome moniker) has clear Banksy and Blek inspiration informing his art.

Kenny Random
Kenny Random


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All together…”You put your right foot in….” Kenny Random


Banksy isn’t the only stencil artist challenged by feet.

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Alessio B


We even passed stencil murals which were clearly permissioned, in October 2018 Ale Corredigo produced a stencil tribute to internationally famous Padova conductor Claudio Scimoni who passed away 6th September 2018.

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Ale Corredigo


Padova walls functioned as a literal community noticeboard with tons of political messages in spraypaint, paste up, marker pen and stencil format, here announcing that there would be a protest against racism on 12th October, though which October is not clear to the outsider.

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political agitator unknown


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political stencilist unknown


Padova was our restaurant and dormitory, touristing the living daylights out of Venice was our main intention and we travelled there by train. As Italian trains are infamous in the interrailing graff community as being among the easiest to hit it came as no surprise to find our carriage bore some stylish lettering. Slightly weird to find we traveled on the same train twice in 2 days!


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Mario


The buff is present but limit themselves to just sufficient to reveal carriage identification codes.

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Mario


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Lodz


And so to Venice where our expectations for illegal street art were even lower than in Padova.  One of the first specimens of street art we chanced upon was as stencil by Dolus, also seen in recent years in Shoreditch.

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Dolus


Placement is paramount in street art, so when in Venice – use the canals! Two artists did this to great effect, this first example is artist unknown to me but awesome canal proximity for the swimmer.

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Artist unknown


Following obligatory Venice box ticking like more frescoes, rooftop views of canals, buying cheap beads on the Rialto and a pavement cafĂ© lunch, my wife kindly agreed that we try to locate the one bit of art the stencil maestro Banksy dropped in Venice earlier this year, though we were pessimistic as I believed it had gone. The hunt required exploring some of the nicer quiet back streets of Venice, we were so impressed with the tranquility and absence of pressing crowds that we returned the next evening for dinner in an alleyway restaurant.  We weren't disappointed with either the meal or the Banksy.

Banksy Venice Migrant Child #ACAB
Banksy Venice Migrant Child, ACAB!


Banksy Refugee Child, Venice 2019


Banksy Refugee Child, Venice 2019
Banksy, Immigrant Child, Venice 2019


That was the other specimen of street art with inspired canal context.

Bronk, another artist who has also visited Shoreditch, placed a four eyed female possibly readying for a bit of illegal canal swimming among the gondolas. Just one small bit of sartorial guidance for tourists…. do you really need to be told that the gondolier look is kind of reserved for fit people with big poles at the back of a punt?

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Bronk


Top marks for the ballsiest placement for the street art we saw in Venice goes to this stencil by ESPI, an artist about whom I can find out bugger all but this stencil was not far from St Marks and on the main waterfront drag.

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ESPI

Just to be clear, this is not a guide to street art in either of these locations, it is not a comprehensive survey, it is merely a little bit of a reflection on the unexpected richness of the local scene as chanced upon during our brief visit. Padova had a street art festival at the beginning of the Summer and judging by the website it yielded a dozen or so very accomplished murals by mainly local artists but for us this was a visit in which street art came quite a way down the list of priorities. Go for the biennial, the food and the tourist experience but do also look out for lovely little street art easter eggs.

Links:
Alessio-B instagram

Kenny Random instagram

Scrovegni Chapel website

All photos: Dave Stuart

Thursday 25 July 2019

The Start Of The End - ODDO, MCLN, Savant and DaddyStreetFox


ODDO, MCLN, Savant and DaddyStreetFox

Monty's Bar
49 Brick Lane;
London

11th July - 25th July 2019


ODDO and fellow street artists Savant, MCLN and Daddy Street Fox have a group show at Monty’s Bar and it is fascinating to see what they get up to when freed of some of the “issues” or perhaps limitations of outdoor walls.

Oddo has a particularly varied range of street art styles, mainly all leaning towards the sinister.

ODDO - Shoreditch, 2018
ODDO - Shoreditch, 2018


ODDO - Shoreditch, 2018
ODDO - Shoreditch, 2018


ODDO - Shoreditch
ODDO - Shoreditch, 2018


Indoors Oddo pretty much replicates the breadth of styles but really amps up the dark, warped and bizarre. Introducing the hairy babies! They look spooky on the streets, they are awesome in the rough sculptural creations in this show.

ODDO - My Ball Is Burning (Ring Of Fire)
ODDO - My Ball Is Burning (Ring Of Fire)


ODDO - You called, me lady?
ODDO - You Called, Me lady?


oddo
ODDO - Hairy Babies!


ODDO - More Tea Vicar
ODDO - More Tea Vicar


Many facing the Start of The End might be inclined to experience religious awakenings or religious conversions and a lot of Oddo’s characters appear in gloomy hoods, I had often attributed a sinister demeanour to the characters but in the context of this show we read a monk-like appearance.

ODDO - Overview
ODDO - Overview


Framed works on paper serve to underline how faithful the street paste ups are to Oddo’s indoor art.

ODDO - Do I Know Your Name
ODDO - Do I Know Your Name?


ODDO - Pre French War Porn
ODDO - Pre French War Porn


ODDO - Ching Ching
ODDO - Ching Ching


There is a curious symbolism possibly present in the DaddyStreetFox art originating in the gothic religious overtones. The Start Of The End is nigh perhaps?  DSF’s contributions have a direct line from the layered collages in frames in the gallery to the photos of the collages as seen on the streets.


DaddyStreetFox - From The Wood (paste up)
DaddyStreetFox - From The Wood (Brick Lane paste up, 2018)


DaddyStreetFox - From The Wood (collage)
DaddyStreetFox - From The Wood (collage)


The fox frequently appears dressed as a priest or perhaps a choirboy while the stunning colours resemble a church stained glass window. Stained glass windows perform a range of functions beyond merely permitting the entry of muted colourful tones into a church, they denote patronage and wealth, they are a mechanism by which sinners seek favours to turn left on passing through the pearly gates and they promoted the religious indoctrination of a largely illiterate congregation. The ecclesiastical fox appears in stain glass windows from as early as the 14th century and has been interpreted as a criticism or accusation of slyness or hypocrisy in the church. 


DaddyStreetFox - Burning Chapel (collage)
DaddyStreetFox - Burning Chapel (collage)


DaddyStreetFox - Burning Chapel (paste up)
DaddyStreetFox - Burning Chapel (paste up, 2019) (or - "bastard fox got the bins again")


The preaching fox is also to be found on misericords in some old churches, misericords are small lips on the front edge of a hinged church seat which when the seat is raised allows the user to perch partially seated on the lip, a bit like those bum cushions on the Bakerloo line. Some of those old wooden misericords in ancient churches were formed as elaborate decorative friezes and the preacher fox was sometimes there as a kind of jocular warning. DaddyStreetFox’s foxes never look comical or avuncular.


DaddyStreetFox - From The Corpses, Flowers Grow (collage)
From The Corpses, Flowers Grow (collage)


DaddyStreetFox - From The Corpses, Flowers Grow (paste up)
DaddyStreetFox - From The Corpses, Flowers Grow (paste up, Brick Lane 2019)


It’s a “possible” symbolism because there is large probability that this is nothing to do with Daddy Street Fox’s artistic inspiration.

MCLN’s plague doctor has been a charming and occasionally emotionally charged character that has decorated Shoreditch walls for several years now but the artist appears to have embraced other characters this year.

MCLN, Shoreditch 2019
MCLN, Shoreditch 2019


MCLN, Shoreditch 2019
MCLN, Shoreditch 2018


I once made up an interpretation of the changes in the appearance and demeanour of the plague doctor liking it to the possible arc of the plague doctor's love life and by implication, that of the artist. This was complete fiction and bore no resemblance to the artist’s true love life at all!  A new MCLN character has emerged, a battered face rooted to the ground by a pedestal which appears organically to be grow into the head. Dark clouds hover overhead; life, money and religion (again) is symbolised in monuments and various detritus, truly this character does seem to have reached the end.  Mosques, crosses, churches and pyramids all link to Matters Of Meaning.

MCLN - Matters Of Meaning
MCLN - Matters Of Meaning


MCLN Expedition Kindred
MCLN - Epedition Kindred


MCLN - The Elmer Room
MCLN - The Elmer Room


Savant is one of Shoreditch’s more prolific street artists with a reputation for complex imagery populated by ghosts, themes of darkness and death in a surreal Dadaist style utilising collages of text and imagery.

Savant, Shoreditch 2019
Savant, Shoreditch 2019


Intriguing and easy to like, Savant’s art translates well into the theme of the show and the company it is keeping.  Thankfully our favourite wasn’t for sale as temptation is notoriously difficult to resist.

Savant - Entropy
Savant - Entropy


Graffoto has always had a penchant for art hosted in rather more distressed locations than the typical art world white box gallery, think Pure Evil Gallery and BSMT Space. This show is hosted by Monty’s bar which has built a reputation over the years as a great bar and an art programme reliably tapping into the more intriguing street artists , that kind of creative energy that thrives below the level of permissioned murals and art collectors flipping the art in the big auction houses which is not uncommon among some “jet set” street artists. The Start of The End taps perfectly the Monty’s Bar ambience and that is a good thing.

Monty's Bar


Monty's Bar


Monty's Bar


Links:

ODDO instagram

daddyStreetFox instagram

MCLN instagram

Savant Instagram

Monty's Bar Facebook

all photos: Dave Stuart

Thursday 6 June 2019

Benjamin Irritant - "Forget You Ever Saw Me"

Atom Gallery
127 Green Lanes, Stoke Newington,
London N16 9DA
18 May – 8 June 2019

Anti consumerism and anti advertising has been a street art staple street art since day dot. In 2017 black and white paste ups started to appear around Shoreditch with fully formed views on these subjects and they looked awesome. The messages were clear, the imagery was clever and witty and the art and locations really ticked all the boxes.

Benjamin Irritant
Shoreditch 2017


Benjamin Irritant
Shoreditch 2017


Benjamin Irritant
Shoreditch 2018


The artist is question was Benjamin Irritant and the art employed surreal collagism to spear establishment privilege, environmental complacency and set a fresh agenda.

Paste up street artists face several challenges when their art moves indoors. Can the ideas that look so thought provoking or stimulating outdoors avoid becoming mere cartoons in a gallery. Can the artist up the production quality to give the art the longevity that simply is not required in the street art arena?

Benjamin Irritant
Shoreditch 2018


In one way, Benjamin – let’s not shorthand him as Irritant, that just wouldn’t be terribly kind – does indoors exactly what he does outdoors, lots of paste ups. The human size bunny headed characters on the gallery wall did a great job of eavesdropping on the any chin stroking art gallery conversations going on.

Benjamin Irritant - Rabbit Rabbit Yak Yak Rabbit
Rabbit Rabbit Yak Yak Rabbit


Benjamin Irritant - It Isn't All that Great
"It Isn't That Great"


The Churchillian hands looked particularly effective in halftone form screen printed onto the gallery window, whether you are in the gallery or outside there is a certain “FUCK YOU” evident and who’s to say that’s not implicit in a lot of Benjamin’s art.

Benjamin Irritant - Forget You Ever Saw Me


Benjamin Irritant - Forget You Ever Saw Me


The Bunny rabbits bring a sense of fun and perhaps absurdity to the party. They could connect to Alice in Wonderland or you might even think a kind of Donnie Darko weirdness is afoot.

Benjamin Irritant - It Isn't All that Great
Conform


Benjamin Irritant - Expect A Comedown
Expect A Comedown


The real point of the show though is the actual framed art and the art is both fascinating in content and beautifully executed.

Benjamin Irritant - Anything Is Possible
Anything Is Possible


Benjamin Irritant - You Are Free
You Are Free


Benjamin Irritant - We Are Ungovernable
We Are Ungovernable


Benjamin Irritant - We Have A List
We Have A List


Benjamin Irritant - We've Got Your Walls
We've Got Your Walls


The cacophony of paste ups on the street reached a cacophony in the days leading up to the show and there were two particular pieces which these eyes had not observed on the streets before “We are Ungovernable” and “Social Control – Not Anymore”, which are now both available in the gallery.

Benjamin Irritant
Shoreditch, 2019


Benjamin Irritant
Brick Lane, 2019


Benjamin Irritant


Benjamin Irritant - Social Control  - Not Any More
Social Control - Not Any More


Check the way the art has been assembled, we suspect the original collages are screenprinted on heavyweight paper, they appear to be mounted on board and then set into deep frames creating depth.

Benjamin Irritant - We Are Ungovernable
We Are Ungovernable


Graffoto has got out of the habit of publishing alcohol fuelled reviews the morning after art show private views but in sympathy with the White Rabbit "Oh dear, oh dear! I shall be too late!" is our perpetual concern. At time of writing there are 3 viewing days open before the show closes its well worth the schlep, hopefully you won’t forget you saw him.

Benjamin Irritant - That's Flawed Folks
That's Flawed Folks


Links:
Benjamin Irritant: Instagram
Atom Gallery: website
All Photos: Dave Stuart

Benjamin Irritant - Hysterical Mass Consumerism