Thanks to to Keen 53 and Sharn.E for organising such a wicked weekend, (a few of us started on Friday evening) it really was the ultimate London oldskool writers’ reunion at a wonderful spot, alongside the Thames with writers painting alongside each other for what seemed like miles…
My unfinished Elate piece by me with help from Jenny and Drew, featuring 1962 rolling stock fill and featuring personal additions from Envy, Time, Keen 53, Sharn.E, Prime WRH, Wish, Part Two, Fuem ACR, Carl 131, Merc, Coad 5, Fuel, Kis 42, Fued, Colt 45, Cazbee DSS, Hit and Urge. People competed over the best spots on ‘the train’ to hit, just like in the old days, it was lots of fun…here’s the view across the river Thames from my spot…
After last years Covent Garden ‘writers bench’ reunion was so well attended and instantly became the stuff of legend, the organiser Keen 53 and Sian decided to take it to the next level and take it to a spot where we could all paint our own pieces with tunes ,a barbeque a gazebo and all the necessary bits and pieces for an amazing day out, but miles from anyone who might bother us and in a spectacular location ….
A 7.30 start is a bit much normally but this was good.
…and a trickle of new arrivals…
…kept arriving…
…until we had our own little mini festival going !!
There were so many oldskool writers painting and loads of legends passing through that it was hard to stay focussed on your piece for more than a few minutes until the next reunion, introduction and retelling of cherished stories …
Nearly everyone there was first/second generation (mid-late eighties) London train writer but there were some honorary additions to the roster who all helped to make it a magic day full of real golden moments that will be remembered forever by all.
In attendance were untold legends from Londons’ rich graffiti history of urban and street art, lost in the mists of time but resurrected in the sun to the live the dream once again….
the line up just went on and on as you walked….
….and seemed to go on for half a mile or so….
…. ohthe joy of really not being sold anything … no stealth marketing, cynical serial media re-launches, product placement, fake posturing and definitely no toys, bandwagon jumpers, brown noses, me-me-me-ism, investment strategies, gimmicks or hype (yawn)….
…instead we had over fifty legendary street and urban transit artists and true blood Hip Hop pioneers including Keen 53, Sharn E, Chic, Desire, Envy, Cop 205, Fuel, Prime, Colt 45, DJ Dexter, Bap, Kis42, Brave 1, Skore, Crok, Shye 131, Rave, Urge, Part 2, Crane, Time, Hit, Carl ST, Merc, Coad 5, Fume ACR, Cazbee, Doze, Ebs, Care, Owed, Kee, Fued 28, Rite, Crok, Freehand, Urge, Ebee, Keylow, Jyer, Kem, Mef, Trans 1, Arian WD, Hert, Steam 156 and many more…..
…the art priceless @ $A-Dime-a-Dozen.00
…the smiles and camaraderie heartfelt, contagious and refreshingly universal…
….our vocational thirst tempered by maturity and wisdom…
…the styles diverse, names earned and skills hard won…..
…and the day featuring absolute legends and cornerstones of global urban art history, some of whom were out painting for the first time in quarter of a century…
… ‘respect the architects’ I read on a certain brother’s shirt….
…never was a truer word worn…
….Elate and ‘OAP’ (old and proud) by Keen 53…
Freya, a dedication piece to her daughter, by Sharn.E and a quick stick-up by Kis42
Higher by Cazbee- nicked from his Flickr cheers Caz, great that you’re back out painting…
Big respect and mad love for all who reached and all those who didn’t make it but should have been there, see you next time, thanks a million to Tony and Sian for organising everything and hooking up so many legends in one amazing spot…
Praise be to the weather fairy for the sunshine, was soooo better than last years hailstone thunderstorm washout…. ta for listening gal you dun good dis time. Respect lol
I did all the artwork for Arcadia, one of the highlights of Glastonbury 2010, the Festival’s 40th Birthday, the hottest on record and some say the best yet…
For two weeks we relished the bliss of perfect English midsummer in the most mystical part of the country, Glastonbury, where ley lines meet and legends were born, in The Vale ofAvalon, the ancient mythic gateway to the heathen goddess; a place of pilgrimage for millennia.
I was onsite with the team of militant revolutionary dreamers and genius engineers known as Arcadia, easily the best sound system around and quite possibly the greatest show on earth.
Their meticulous attention to detail and fantastic organisation extends to the busy site canteen who kept me fed and watered with an ever-changing array of fresh veggie delights and herbal teas….
I painted anarcho punk slogans since 82 then graffiti at the birth of UK hip hop in 84, onto London’s tube system in 86 through the golden age of train graffiti moving to acid house backdrops in 89. The nineties and new millenium saw me painting at traveller squat parties and Reclaim the Streets protest raves. Throughout the quiet renaissance of classical, surreal and visionary oil painting I was at the easel and fused my skills back with graffiti in Shoreditch in 2009 then onto MuTate Britain with the Mutoid Waste Company in Ladbroke Grove under the Westway…
Now in 2010 I feel glad to have played a small part by painting for the next underground zeitgeist, one which takes influence and energy from all those phenomenon and more, but boldly maps out a new frontier that is purely its’ own…ARCADIA.
Like all underground revolutionary movements the gold rush is for the inner treasure. The ultimate reward is the accomplishment of the dream and the actualisation of the idea. At Glastonbury 2010 Arcadia surpassed all expectations and reached dizzying new heights of inspiration, engineering, teamwork, sculpture, music, lighting, pyrotechnics, performance art and energy as this film shows….
The Build
When we arrived onsite the Afterburner stage was still in its early stages, the ‘legs’ of the spider are actually scrap from customs xray machines that used to scan containers and lorries. Pure genius…
The core of the beast is expertly manoevered into place…
…and it shows its’ face.
In keeping with Arcadia’s militant branding and apocalyptic atmosphere I did the line-up board using their trademark stencil lettering, and carefully distressed the fragments of plane for that ‘hauled out of the swamp 5 years after the crash’ look….
…with lots of help from capable hands.
The entrance arch is a couple of modified plane wings, possibly from a glider, it’d been rubbed down to the bare aluminium so to keep the burnished metal intact on the ‘pipes’ I used Belton’s amazing transparent black spray paint to get the relief modelling without losing the wonderful texture which gleamed from underneath as the sun caught the metal…The design was finalised between myself and Pip Rush and based on carvings on an ancient Aztec temple….
Here’s a video of the build in progress.
The line-up boards go up….
I then cut back over the black with Belton’s burner chrome to get a contrast against the aluminium and carefully painted the pop rivets and ‘crazy paving’ seams by hand.
Pip was keen to use my ‘Circuit Splat’ style so I modified it to pure abstraction with a vivid tribal background on some pieces of aeroplane scrap to hang behind the massive ‘Arc Bar’, the sun was pounding down…
After painting ‘til twilight the lights go on on the new Afterburner for the very first time and the eerie entity blinks into life.
Next day the crew finish building ‘stage left’ so I can start the piece.
Across the field the punk tent takes shape
After being branded with the Arcadia logo by their prop maker and effects guy, Simon, he begins work on the dirty-metal-effect background for my piece….
…and I start blocking in the arrows. Some respectful inspiration drawn from amigo Keen One here, but in 3 dimensions and distressed with a strong Elate/Arcadia twist….
….and lots of rivets, seams, gleams, glints and the Arcadia logo in the centre….
….everyone seemed to really like this.
Here the graffiti began to fuse with scrap art by Simon and Sam…
Finally after sweat and dedication, blisters, sprains and minor sunstroke Arcadia opened on Thursday 24th June 2010 to the public ….
…who went nuts….while many crew take the opportunity to sleep until rested before re-emerging to enjoy the weekend.
My art at the Arcadia Arc Bar ‘scuse the poor shots
You could feel the heat on your face from the other side of the field. Experience Arcadia, they’re doing amazing things.
I’ll let the Lords of Lightning sign off this post as only they know how.
All pictures of Arcadia build by me and Jenny apart from a few select shots of Afterburner show and Glastonbury used with permission Creative Commons and taken by Luke Blackmore, lusciousblopster, mark-vauxhall, medalliamagpie, Tangentical, fussy onion, Al Green midlander123 and bfirsh; thanks to all.
Massive thanks to Pip and Bertie and all Arcadia crew.
Magic Window Studios is a concept for a new London art gallery that I’ve been working hard to put together over the last year as anyone who follows this blog will know.
Due to interference and a campaign of intimidation, (related in my previous post) it has not seen the light of day.
I have also encountered other adverse reactions that I have not recorded here.
My intentions were not to make a pot of cash, (though a humble living would have been nice for myself and the other artists).
Instead my dreams were of an aesthetic aspiration, giving exposure to ignored, untrained visionaries and first generation London graffiti pioneers from the roots of our rich urban culture; exploring typography, symbolism, social commentary and archetypes, free from the restrictions of graffiti but freed by it’s energy to explore new dimensions.
I have made a reluctant decision to cancel forthcoming events.
I apologise to those who were to be involved in this project, including artists who have been preparing work and individuals and agencies I had engaged to help. I find it hard to believe that we have faced this level of opposition to something so authentic, and of such interest but this has unfortunately been the case.
……………….
“For better it is to do mighty things, to dream of glorious triumph, even though checked by defeats, than to take part with those poor souls who neither do much, nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory or defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt- January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945
It is with this wisdom in mind and in a spirit of peace that I relate this news.
I haven’t posted on my blog for a few months, here’s why.
I have been subject to a campaign of intimidation and aggression after announcing plans to open a gallery at Brick Lane and painting legal graffiti on prized spots. Now I realise I have unwittingly been put in an unthinkable situation.
I would be happy to engage in healthy competition of innovation, skills, banter and wit, but whoever is opposed to my plans chose the way of the bully. Now the situation has got so bad that I am going public with the information.
Let’s start at the beginning…..I painted anti-war slogans and punk logos since ‘82, then in the New York style from ‘84.
Being from a working class background I left school aged 16 in ‘86. I didn’t have the privilege of an art education so worked as a messenger boy in the City of London just as the Underground railway was overrun with graffiti for the first time.
My passion for graffiti got me fired from my round in early ‘87 and I continued writing on trains through London’s graffiti heyday until 1989 when I stopped illegal work and taught myself to paint classically in oil, continuing to paint graffiti legally.
When Banksy and others recently enabled vandalism to be accepted as an art form, and visionary painting by untrained outsiders was finally acknowledged, I thought my time for recognition was here. My calculation didn’t take into account the carefully controlled hierarchy that exists in the London scene.
I had no intent to subvert anyone’s status and only wished to embrace diversity in all its forms and participate in the community. So after being completely ignored by the major players in the ‘Street Art’ establishment I decided to go it alone in 2009 and curate my own space in a Georgian warehouse at the top of Brick Lane, the hub of the art community, specialising in work by oldskool graffiti writers and intuitive visionaries.
I told many in the neighbourhood about my plans. This news was met with a sign posted on my wall at the beginning of August 09 “Art Gallery Not Needed- London…Breathe/Stretch/Relax/Perforate”and signed ‘Sinom de Plume’
Sinom de Plume is a corruption of the French ‘Nom de Plume’ meaning Pen Name or literary double, a fake name adopted by an author.
“Breathe/Stretch/Relax/Perforate” is a corruption of the Yoga instruction ‘Breathe/Stretch/Relax/Rejuvenate’. In that simple substitution of one word for another the author turns an instruction in transcendence, humanity and hope into a tool of censorship, oppression and threat.
I was shocked that anyone could feel such a way against me for doing something so creative and positive but was even more determined to continue with my plans.
By late September 2009 I began to paint with the infamous and upcoming MuTate Britain Collective who embraced my art and long history in the scene , welcomed me with open arms, gave me enormous walls to paint and hung my work in some of the best spots in their ‘One Foot in the Grove’ show under the Westway in Ladbroke Grove. I was asked to invite some oldskool legends from London’s ‘Golden Age’ to come and paint their perimeter wall, which was delivered in fine style.
It’s all detailed on the previous posts on my blog. I felt delighted to be recognised at last. As the MuTate Britain extravaganza was going on in Portobello Road, West London, building work was being done on our proposed gallery in Shoreditch, indicating to people, I presume, that we had ignored the warning notice.
The work was finished in late 2009 and myself and my girlfriend went for a well deserved holiday over Christmas. As soon as we got back in late December, refreshed, invigorated and excited about the year ahead, the real intimidation started.
I began to notice an old car decked out in tinsel and driven by a very large man hanging around our building.
One quiet evening, the 2nd January 2010, I was putting out the rubbish in the bin on the street corner; his car, which had been waiting in a side road, performed a reverse handbrake turn at high speed and then drove straight at me down the dark and empty street at full speed with hazard lights flashing. He screeched to a halt inches from my feet, I thought I was going to get run over and managed to stumble out of his path to my gates and get in, terrified and shaking as he sat parked outside the gates.
At this point I knew something was seriously wrong.
I needed a drink and had nothing in the building so after 20 minutes left cautiously for the nearest pub after checking out of the window that he had gone. As I was drinking my pint and to my horror, the driver of the car walked up to the window, stared at me then turned on and disappeared into the night. I got home and called the police who said it was a rare and exceptional incident and gave me a crime number.
Two mornings later I awoke and looked out of the window, the barbed wire preventing access to our building had been pulled aside and the grey slate tiles leading to our windows were broken as if they had been walked across, even the roofing felt was ripped. The damage was verified as new by the caretaker so I called the police who attended and registered it as an attempted burglary.
Three weeks after it had been repaired, the barbed wire was ripped aside yet again, with fresh marks on the tiles.
On Sunday 7th March 2010 I found that my computer had been hacked. I consulted my IT guy who told me that it was an attack by professional hackers. They had installed a ‘Trojan’ and ‘key loggers’ (devices which record every stroke of the keypad) set up multiple user accounts with full privileges including ‘impersonate user privilege’ ‘’modify firmware privilege’ among countless other stuff including a ‘tunnelling proxy’ and encrypted zones, things I knew nothing about and had hardly even heard of.
They have ignored multiple opportunities to steal money from paypal accounts, preferring to access my emails.
This was repeatedly listed in my PC’s ‘Events Log’ as Outlook Events-
‘”C:Users\Me\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst The store was last opened on a different machine”
…but I have only ever accessed my mail from my own PC; I am convinced this carefully targeted hacking is linked to the previous incidents. Any hacker who installs key loggers then ignores constant access to cash would probably be after something else,as is indicated in my events log.
They have also had access to…
My writing and rants, directed at an art scene which ignore myself and countless talented others while celebrating ‘instant artists’ and hype.
My personal emails to my girlfriend full of pet names, secrets of our personal life and ‘coochie coo’ sweetness.
My gallery plans, manifesto, logos, and communications with artists I was planning to show when we opened; and confidential website information.
Personal private photos of my family
Shots from my girlfriend’s modelling portfolio.
Intimate photos of myself and my girlfriend.
My broad collection of ‘adult movies’ of multiple genres; classic hardcore, roleplay, lesbian, ‘Barely Legal’ and JAV (Japanese Adult Video) always verifiably legal and taken from carefully moderated sites.
My archive of graffiti and art photos and scans of my sketches of future works.
Intimate details of my illnesses, medications and medical conditions.
Details of my history of substance misuse, now seven years clean.
Highly personal emails to family members in times of illness, joy, distress and even argument.
The vast variety of websites I read when trying to understand political and religious points of view from all ends of the spectrum when researching topics current in the media.
My unpublished writing analysing the meanings behind mine and others’ work, written in the context of the history of art and civilisation.
After discovering and eventually putting a stop to the attack by shutting off my system I left the building next morning and was followed yet again, this time onto a train.
I cannot see what I could possibly have done to warrant this attention and threat; I am a good, kind and honest man who has done no-one any wrong, have tirelessly helped others throughout my life and have countless people who will happily vouch for my character and personality.
All I have done is paint legal walls with the owners’ permission according to the rules of graffiti, make a few impassioned comments about art on the web, and try to open a gallery in East London that gives a platform for highly talented and innovative artists excluded by the establishment.
I ask nothing except to be allowed to live my life in peace. I am reconsidering my plans to open the gallery in the face of these experiences. It seems I have ‘ruffled feathers’ for whatever reason.
I send out this statement to raise awareness so that people know what is going on. I re-entered the scene full of optimism ideas, and happiness which I have shared with all who let me participate. I thought things would be very different to this.
Thanks to all who enjoy my art, have shared good times and given me support and encouragement. I hope my next communication will be on a happier note.
Elate / Jon
18th March 2010
Additional note: Comments accusing me of being Schizophrenic and imagining the whole thing have already appeared on a well known graffiti site, in an obvious attempt to discredit me.
We kick off part two of this post with the golden age train writer Cazbee 53 from DSS Crew Da Sure Shots, from Ladbroke Grove piecing the outer wall of the MuTate Britain mechanical zoo….Many of Cazbees pieces rolled past this spot on trains,or were under the Westway itself.
Now he’s back 20 years later, along with oldskool steel writers Fuel, Skore, Mear, Crok, Don myself and a few of London’s more new skool to take the vibe back to the raw, enabling a potent and complementary mix of the hardcore underground vibes and tribes….
and back inside for another shot of me and Vibes….
……and onto the wild, diverse art within, here’s Jimmy South of War Boutique
Lyle Doghead, LRRY and friend
Elate, Obey
Anarchist Crockery by Carrie Reichart
In Dog We Trust by Jolly Good, made with real dollar bills…
Vera Bong
Dotmaster
The toilets…
New Arrivals…
What I have posted is a fraction of what is there, you really have to get down to this 12,000 foot space and experience the most revolutionary art happening London, probably even the world has ever seen.
Here’s some more pictures from the MuTate Britain Winter Show. I’m going to be adding a whole load more as a separate post at the weekend at some point as I need to rephotograph stuff to a half decent standard.
This has to be one of the best art exhibitions anywhere ever in my humble opinion and I’m very glad to have had a hand in it….If you like your surrealism apocalyptic your graffiti groundbreaking your grime genuine and your people straight up this is the place for you…..We kick of with Rubbish Fairy and House of Doll
Mear
Skore TRC
Crok
Achy
Towns
Fuel
Joe Rush
Elate Vibes Lyle Doghead and LRRY and Pakka
Lyle Doghead and LRRY and Pakka with plane by Sam Haggerty and Dotmasters
Teddy Baden
Joe Rush
Wreckage International
Joe Rush and others
Sam Haggerty
War Boutique
Joe Rush
Sam Haggerty and Joe Rush
Obey Giant
Wolf and PXL
Andy Seize
Elate Vibes
Dotmasters aka Bagsy
Sam Hagarty and Dotmasters
Liam Cordy
Joe Rush
Mutoid Dave and others…
Elate Cazbee
Pure Indulgence
Families are welcome to this multisensory extravaganza!.
Full dates and opening times below. We look forwarding to seeing you!
Opening times:
Opens December 4th to December 20th – FRI / SAT / SUN
Fri – 2pm -10pm Sat-1pm – 10pm Sun – 12pm-9pm
We are also open 2 Wednesdays for the Portobello Winter Festival on the 9th & 16th December – 6pm -10pm
‘One Foot in the Grove’ is back from the 4th of December.
‘Our festival of underground art provides a welcoming, inclusive and visually astounding experience for all ages in an atmospheric 12,000 square foot setting just off Portobello Road. Walk amongst giant sculptures, installations and unique artwork and hang out for good times at our licensed bar with proper music and delicious grub.
We are featuring loads of new work including an epic wall by Elate, Vibes and Obey Giant that cracks and crumbles the Westway to rubble before your eyes!
There’s new work by Joe Rush, a giant collaboration by Sam Haggerty and Dotmasters, new pieces by Teddy Baden, Wreckage, Seize, Code FC, Bleach, Best Ever, Zadok, Fuel, Skore, Crok, Mear, Towns, K-Guy, to name but a few, also light installations, lasers, stalls, bric a brac, curios, and anarchist crockery.
We have rehung our gallery room that offers exclusive posters, prints, originals, sculptures, photography, clothing and object d’art that make perfect prezzies for you and your discerning friends and family.
We provide that much needed alternative to the Xmas chaos of Oxford Street – so don’t miss out on the best show in town.
See giant fire-breathing robots walking, drink at our licensed bar, see and hear film shows, trains thundering past and experience an authentic friendly festival vibe in the heart of London.
This promises to be London’s biggest, most inclusive, interactive and underground street art event this Christmas.
Families are welcome to this multisensory extravaganza!.
Full dates and opening times below. We look forwarding to seeing you!
Opening times:
Opens December 4th to December 20th – FRI / SAT / SUN
Fri – 2pm -10pm Sat-1pm – 10pm Sun – 12pm-9pm
We are also open 2 Wednesdays for the Portobello Winter Festival on the 9th & 16th December – 6pm -10pm
New Elate graffiti at Stik’s street art event in Mile End, East London that finishes This Sunday see blog post with full details here
Sorry for the lack of pictures and updates on this event, my camera broke, so many thanks to Art Of The State for stepping in with this, check his excellent website and blog for more pictures of this show plus lots of amazing underground and not-quite-so-underground art plus awesome photos of punk bands in furious action.
I have a new camera now so expect to resume normal service.
My good mate, the inimitable Stik, launches his very first art event this week in the East End in the very posh sounding Mile End Arts Pavilion a stunning gallery space with a glass frontage overlooking a small lake.
It runs to the end of the month in which time it will be transformed…..Stik will be painting live onto panels that line the building, so will myself, aswell as Fuel (Cold Crush Dukes), Spat (1Time), Ted Baden (Mutoid Waste) Milo and many others.
Come down for a cuppa and shoot the breeze ‘til you’re bewildered with a load of solvent damaged compulsives; you could even take a panel home to build a funky BMX ramp for the wife’s Christmas present or maybe even that kennel for the Vicar’s pitbull….(or you could just stick ‘em on the wall, yawn…)
Here’s Stik’s Press Release
Silhouettes with spray-cans glinting in the darkness have long journeyed through the East End to the austere walls of the rail arches in Mile End, an underground showcase of underground art.
Now, in broad daylight, the elegant new Mile End Arts Pavilion opens its doors to some of the most notorious graffiti artists in East London.
This unique venue offers the opportunity for you, the viewer to observe from behind glass or get down and dirty with the artists painting LIVE! (Protective masks are available on the door)
Each week will feature a new wave of artists, sourced locally with a smattering of special guest painters.
Show is open each Wednesday to Sunday from 12-6 pm
Wednesday 4th November – Sunday 29th November.
Press Day Saturday 8th November
Stik
Stik curates the show and appears in it. Featuring in the Mutoid Waste Company’s current headlining event in Ladbroke Grove under the Westway, Stik is also the alternative artist featuring in this week’s Big Issue Magazine.
Whilst producing murals for authorities such as Waltham Forest and British Waterways, Stik’s black and white figures have illicitly been lurking in the cityscape for almost a decade.
Stik is proud to present a hand-picked cross-section that showcases some of the most talented and innovative artists on both the local and global stage.
Elate
A graffiti writer from London’s 1980s heyday Elate’s vision transformed and he has painted classically in oils for the last 20 years under his real name, Jon Hammer.
Now Elate is back painting the streets of East London fresher than ever. Inspired by his surreal and apocalyptic discoveries in the studio he is truly pushing the limits of the art form.
Fuel
Universally regarded as one of the true Kings of London’s ‘Golden Era’ of train graffiti, Fuel’s multi-coloured emissions are once more adorning the public domain.
Milo
A Brazilian artist prolific on the streets of East London, Milo takes an abstract figurative approach relating to nature, human behaviour, the mind, its’ movements and ways of manifesting. This results in dense, mind-boggling colour-scapes.
For the last 12 years Spat has enjoyed exploring and painting the streets and derelict wasteland and tracksides of east London. Initially a pure-street ‘graffiti-bomber’ in recent years he has progressed to full colour pieces, commissions and screen prints.
Teddy Baden
Teddy Baden is part of the Mutoid Waste collective, his compulsions and love of dogs led to experimenting stencilling techniques, using varying sizes and characters of over four hundred breeds; viewing them almost as ‘alien creatures’ Teddy shows an interest in the ‘hairy ones’ almost like someone would tree types or cloud formations.
Run
In a style of his own Italian artist Run uses brush and roller to create giant, polychrome heads and faces on the streets for which he has become known and widely published.
Also appearing ;
Snoe, Smaki, Grems, Stenzilla, Suns, Roots plus many more to be confirmed.
Having been a homeless person myself once I know how difficult it can be to try to satisfy your creative needs when you are busy all day trying to fulfil the most basic human requirements of shelter, food, personal hygiene and warmth.
Such vital needs for expression don’t however just go away.
In the face of your predicament; the absence of basic essentials of survival often accompanied by family and relationship breakdown, loss of work, self esteem and sometimes even addiction issues, self expression becomes more vital than ever.
The solace and the comfort gleaned from some small expression of ones soul, however small, may be the fuel that keeps the inner fire of selfhood burning.
Even a token flourish of pencil or paint, or arrangement of words into prose, is enough to scream ‘I am somebody’ if only to yourself, and that can sometimes mean the difference between two very different paths.
So when Damion Mulrain from the homeless charity Centrepoint from London’s Soho contacted me to ask if I could give a little of my time to pop into their Summer University graffiti project to chat about formulation of ideas, can control and give a few pointers on graffiti, I was delighted to oblige.
Damion has a strong background in graphics and the arts, and is passionate about his work with Centrepoint, so he was able to run and organise the course very effectively himself with the help of his colleague Louisa, my role was merely to enhance his skills with a touch of oldskool authenticity and be there to guide the young people and answer questions when they came up. I also lent the project my collection of graffiti books a few days beforehand and Damion got them all practising on paper long before the cans came out…..
We needed to start simply of course….
…and after watching my demonstration of basic techniques extremely intently….
…everyone seemed to approve …
…so we all decided it was high time to get cracking with some free expression…..
…all of their own….
…and really started to pull some fine ideas out of the bag…
…with the idea of learning some basic can-control skills.
…which they followed up on day two with some more substantial concepts of their own.
Everyone was given the full range of equipment to do all kinds of graffiti, including scalpels and cardboard to make stencils, and despite being warned how much more difficult it was to get a pleasing effect, everyone chose to work freehand.
Damion and Louisa from Centrepoint….
…along with other staff members who dropped in…
…seemed to be having just as much fun…..
as the residents themselves!
Not bad for beginners, huh?
Drip control strategy in full operation…
The rabbit character between the letters ‘SB’ begins to take form….
Despite how it may look this really is HYDE’s first ever piece, outline and work totally his own, just a few pointers from me….
The others too, seemed to take to the task very well indeed, and were rightly pleased with their results.
Lots of fun was had by all. Thanks so much to Damion and Louise for inviting me take part and thanks to all the young people from the project for for allowing me to help them with their expression and to witness them pinning down their visions and ideas so beautifully. Good luck to all for the future!
A 7.30 start is a bit much normally but this was good.
….and seemed to go on for half a mile or so….
…. oh the joy of really not being sold anything … no stealth marketing, cynical serial media re-launches, product placement, fake posturing and definitely no toys, bandwagon jumpers, brown noses, me-me-me-ism, investment strategies, gimmicks or hype (yawn)…. 
…the smiles and camaraderie heartfelt, contagious and refreshingly universal…
…the styles diverse, names earned and skills hard won…..
… ‘respect the architects’ I read on a certain brother’s shirt….
