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I’ve started some new canvases, based on some old ideas. Some of these are mutating and jumping off onto paper into graffiti outlines.

rant begins after the jump….

I’ve dug into some old writing of mine from way back, in which I touch on the basis of this concept, expanding on a line of enquiry put forward by, and quote from Aldous Huxley.

Nature in its savage state is bristling with…clues and cues to the eternal, even those which do not appear immediately do so when viewed either up close or from afar.

A Sung painting of faraway mountains, clouds and torrents is transporting; but so are the close ups of tropical leaves in Douanier Rousseau’s jungles, when I look at the Sung landscape I…(or one of my ‘not Is’ is reminded) of the crags, the boundless expanses of plain, the luminous skies and seas of the minds antipodes…in leaves with their architecture of veins, their stripes and mottlings permeate the depth of their interlacing greenery, and something in me is reminded of those living patterns of the Visionary world. Huxley, Aldous-Heaven and Hell  (1956)

Magnified or distant examples life forms, in fact close ups of any of natures building blocks, the systems, shapes and dimensions nature finds success in, are in fact exactly the same species of systems, shapes and dimensions that comprise the “flora and fauna” of the inner world.

For millennia these were described in many ways without the necessary technical nomenclature to denote what maybe more accurate comparisons with micro organisms, nebulae or microscopic worlds.

They used instead the only similes they knew, treasure from the deepest, darkest places under the ground the only objects whose properties mimicked transcendental perfection, those endless births and proliferations of geometric forms in their sparkle turning into ever more beautiful visions which transport the beholder beyond in an instant.

“The topaz and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald and the carbuncle and gold.” Is the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel’s description of his vision of what he calls the “Garden of Eden”.

The Vedic Otherworld was Utterakuru and is

“…watered by lakes of golden lotuses. There are rivers by thousands full of leaves…of sapphire and lapis lazuli… the lakes resplendent like the morning sun are adorned by golden beds of red lotus”.Huxley, Aldous-Heaven and Hell  (1956)

The ancient Pagan Welsh ‘paradise’ was Ynisvitrin, the Celtic ‘Isle of Glass’. The Buddhists’ paradises comprise of stones of fire. These methods of description are the best physical phenomenon that people at this point in history could reference in an attempt to describe the visual ‘symptoms’ of an unrelatable ecstatic event.

The Hubble Telescope, fractal geometry and electron microscopes, are now showing for the first time physical manifestations of this universal energy which has been experienced internally and told of in legends since the dawn of man.

It seems astonishing, at first, that so little in the way of definite conclusion or correlation has been acknowledged, but with further thought the two worlds, those of subjective enlightenment, and that of objective technological observation are and will always be intrinsically divided, we can however glimpse a thread that leads toward a higher order.

Anyone who finds this interesting should read Huxley’s book which is the best I’ve read on the transcendental aesthetics which unconsciously influence our every waking moment and manifest throughout history in the art, myth and folklore of humankind.

My piece for Meeting of Styles 2009 corner of Brick Lane & Bacon Street

photo© NoLionsInEngland 2009

                Meeting of Styles London graffiti festival 2009 was held at the heart of the UK’s graff- land where Brick Lane meets Bethnal Green Road around the backstreets in Bacon Street, Sclater Street and along the Bethnal Green Road hoardings, the site of the RichMix wall.

A few of us had already been on a bit of a mission to bring proper graff back into this area, but this event certainly finished the job! I haven’t seen much of the new so-called ‘street art’ go up in the area since this lot’s been there.

Meeting of Styles is a world famous event whose aim is to bring together the best international graffiti artists with the best of the local talent.

It was a superb event showcasing a world of talent and styles with a great mix of stunning aerosol talent, much of it edging toward graphic design, comic art, visionary art and sc-fi which was enhanced by the top notch traditional graff and contemporary style writing.

It was very refreshing that it landed in the heart of a neighbourhood which was previously obliterated with some of the most barrel scraping and bandwagon jumping street art, stencils and paste-ups,

Big shout to all the London crew there Zomby, Wish, Fuel, Prime, Urge, Diet, Probs, PIC, Skire, Rigs, 10 Foot, Scip, 2 Kold, Band, Drax, Snug, Spoe, Tizer, Spat, Serva, Cade, Elk, Sieze, Das One, Beejay, Don One, Kist, Jive, Merock, Milo, Reeps One the incredible human beatbox, Jenny who took most of the pictures while I was painting and everyone who passed through and shared beer and happy times whose names have escaped me for the moment .

It was a great pleasure to paint lalongside so many great graffiti writers, aerosol artists, bombers, taggers and every mutation in-between in the heart of East London, one of my stomping grounds when I first started writing Elate back in those mad days of 1986.

How things have changed.

Meeting of Styles Graffiti Jam- Shoreditch 2009- Album 1- The Day Before

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Meeting of Styles Graffiti Jam- Shoreditch 2009- Album 2- The Event

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Meeting of Styles Graffiti Jam- Shoreditch 2009- Album 2- The Monday After

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In the time leading up to this work an unyielding ‘itch’ had gotten into my head, provoked by awareness of the instability, inefficiency and unaccountability of the systems which govern and power our planet. Every night I watched the news the ‘itch’ would increase, as report upon report drew my attention to the precarious threads which hold our precious reality together, and the self-serving and dangerous attitudes and actions of our so called leaders.

Whatever concrete ideas or concepts gave rise to this painting are open for interpretation, but it may bear familiarity to some, to me it reflects the chaotic and irresponsible systems in place in these times. On finishing it I felt an air of calm, but no less horrified acceptance of their state.

It finally found its’ form when I was at an illegal sound system gathering in an vast abandoned power station in east London in around 2004. In the half light afforded by the occasional flash of strobe and searing laser along metal pipes I could make out the shapes of the defunct generators and machinery as they threw disfigured shadows over the walls and floor, various small rooms and alcoves came to my attention ,wires hanging precariously like cobwebs, rust bleeding into the decrepit machinery, silhouettes swayed and jerked malevolently as the electronic heartbeat from the sound rig shook my bones with it’s discordant regularity.

Doom chimed its’ pulse that night and with the clang of the building it became one with the hypnotic kick-drum and impeccably syncopated jerking of bones that had broken out like a fever by the warm bass of the eight foot high speaker stacks, as I approached the banging shook my teeth in my head and adrenalin rushed as the ear-splitting bass vibrated my intestines in frequency and my clothes pressed against my body as if in a wind.

I walked around the towering speakers to the back of the rig and saw the huge illuminated amp stacks, red equaliser LEDs pulsed in time with the heartbeat of the gathering, an enclave of soul power and communion in a dark, abandoned industrial wasteland…I looked up from the black sweaty floor following  the snaking wires that were so precariously holding this magic together and saw my friend JP Malfaiteur sound system operator, backdrop customer and the ‘host’ of the night with a head mounted torch nonchalantly jamming enormous power flexes into an extremely dangerous and deep looking junction box in the wall of the building. Rust and condensation dripped down the walls and into puddles around him on the floor, his Rottweiler glowered menacingly at his feet, then came and licked my hand.

JP saw me, nodded and came across to say hi, something had clicked inside my head with a resounding ‘snap’ this image had transformed in a flash from an ‘itch’ to a skeleton of a concept, one that I knew I would enjoy bringing to life.

I felt that I’d made a great leap in that instant and went round to the front of the rig to enjoy the rest of the weekend in the distorted and funky style associated with his sound system.

On getting home and sleeping for a day or two I began sketching an outline, I concentrated on the ‘itch of doom’ again, considering the multiple analogies awoken by my epiphany.

I instantly built my square ‘mandala’ around JP’s junction box, the core of the ‘vehicle’ and began fleshing it out by drawing on the state of repair of our planet’s vital systems, echoed so well in the dilapidated power station. From this point auto-pilot kicked in and everything literally fell into place.

As I pondered the nature of civilization clinging on to light in an encroaching sea of space and searched for stylistic themes to impart this strange unease my sketches gave way to several impossible objects, constructions with angles which could never possibly exist in three dimensions, but which look as if they should, for an uneasy moment.

My sense of helplessness in the face of daily horror stories of unsustainability of our civilisation and corruption of our leaders and systems and the terrifying certainty of mankind’s doom became through this painting an exercise in analogy and a vent of my frustration, and hopefully a piece of art that will stand the test of any time we have left.

The sketch

The ‘lay-in’ begins, a sketch in paint on canvas

The structure firmly in place I begin to fill in the colour

The finished piece- spot the impossible objects…

You can buy a signed and numbered limited edition print of this painting in a Giclee edition of 100 on Hanenmuhle photo rag paper for £50 plus postage from jenny@jonhammer.com

 (the one in the snap is not signed or numbered but you get the idea!).

I came up to Plaistow Hall of Fame, East London to meet Keen One with the intention of spending a sunny day drinking beer and maybe putting a little something up myself…

Keen one is an awesome style-writer active for near on 25 years and is easily one of the most prolific, original and technically accomplished painters around. Keen has just come back from Amsterdam where he painted three top notch pieces, and is out painting world class burners each and every weekend. You can see his unique and groundbreaking work at Keen’s Flickr page.

I decided to do a small stick-up which took me all of ten minutes. When that was done I enjoyed the sun, chatted with passers-by and actually got to watch the others paint something I rarely get a chance to do as I’m normally painting myself. I wasn’t disappointed and saw a few tricks, styles, techniques that are new to me, it’s always good to watch others paint.

By the time I had arrived Japher, Skore and Keen had already got this far… 

Japher A.W.E 

The legendary Skore has been around since the mid eighties too and is one of London’s most respected for good reason indeed check out his Flickr page.

This guy in the red shirt is called Bino . He paints using both spraycan and brushes and uses diverse materials such as wallpaper and silver foil in his work, which is very different from the norm and visually and texturally stunning and easily some of the most moving and original art I’ve seen for a long time.

This is by King Trev who has been painting graffiti for well over twenty years. He remembered me from the old days and we shared a lot of memories. He spends each weekend touring various halls of fame painting his simple but delightful graffiti often using car paint. He has a very individual and distinctive style. The work of both artists is very reminiscent of tribal painting to me. Trev did three pieces, this one reminds me of something that you would see under a microscope, his style is very distinctive, and he is the self declared inventor of the ‘root style’ due I imagine to the tendril like growths around the letters.

He is around various ‘Halls of Fame’ out painting every weekend, and is one truly dedicated writer and a very nice bloke… 

 TSCT by Trev next to Bino and Japher…

King Trev with finished ‘Trev’ piece, the fill-in on this is done by light quick blasts from a can using a ‘soft-fat’ cap I think. Thanks very much for giving me permission to use this photo in my blog Trev

Finished Bino piece, the strips of foil are vertical stripes either side, between the red dots with black circles around them, and in a few other strategic points. They reflect the light which gives the grid of lines a multi layered effect which seems to hover at varying levels above the wall.

There were pieces of wallpaper in the mix too, check out these close-ups…

 Meanwhile Keen One, ‘Alphabet Killer K’ was getting to grips with the outline around his ‘Keen’ One’ piece.

An acknowledged style master, doing things with the letter-form that most consider supernatural, it’s not hard to see why.

Lovely spot for painting this, very atmospheric, great for watching trains, not that there’s anything much on them anymore just the occasional Tox or Flash tag.

Finishing with a ‘Keen One’ tag in the true graffiti writers style.

Trev getting up.

My blue-fade stick-up with a drop shadow and flash…. Canary Wharf in the distance.

I couldn’t resist one of these.

  Thanks for putting me up …

This is everything that got done on the big wall that day. King Trev, Bino, Japher, Skore and Keen One. Many thanks to all.

I was invited in to paint a small piece of this monster wall by Aks, graffiti artist and the events

co-ordinator. Situated between Shoreditch high street and Brick Lane and opposite the new Chrome and Black shop with the Rarekind Gallery downstairs, this is London’s graffiti central. In the next street is Sclater Street Hall of Fame.

This is now East London’s most visible and longest graffiti wall and is at the heart of the most graffitied area in the country. The wall is a youth project organised by Richmix for young people to learn graffiti with experts and professionals such as the legendary Prime, a face I Iast saw at the Covent Garden ‘writers bench’ in around ‘89.

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‘Covent’ or ‘The Bench’ was the Saturday spot where graffiti writers and b-boys from all over came to hang out, plan missions, sign each others black books and show outlines and photos. I never painted with him before but from seeing his work I always regarded him very highly among the kings of piecing from the eighties and early nineties along with Fuel, Scam, Foam, Cazbee and Kast. To watch Prime paint today it confirms my suspicions, he’s sure as hell still got the magic, as you will see.

Prime and Aks both did huge walls along with Gee-U, Kade and Pie doing pieces and characters with help and input from the young people and other local writers. I did a small piece with a background and character around a character by Mark, one of the young people from the project.

First sunny graff of the year… ELATE!!!

This is the space I was given to work with.

Gee-U working up his outline in the green and my silhouette against pink is taking shape..

Andrew from Spain has another similar piece just off the Osborne Street end of Brick Lane, go and hunt…

“Imajin if Drawing Was Life” it says…

You have to have been into graffiti for a long time to appreciate who this guy is… PRIME from the Golden Age of UK Graffiti.

The master from the eighties shows the new school a future, when the fizz goes from the froth of the ‘urban/ street art’ scene there will still be our movement, always mutating and pushing the limits.

(Big hint- It’s all in the clouds)

ARKADE’s magical colour palate…

demonstrates a cut and fade contrast masterclass heralded by a tuff character by Zomby.

.

Aks pulling it all together with an outline…

Mark, a young person participating from the Richmix project outlines his character.

It just goes to show…

…the sky really is the limit.

Prime outline © PRIME 2009

No Adobe Illustrator or stencils here-  take note!!! Strictly blood, sweat and tears for years and years.

Space with Slash character by Vapor.

Richmix Unity.

My effort (as yet unfinished) from the bus stop opposite…

The Saturday was drizzling and a bit grey but it kept fairly dry enough so we could paint, Me Aks, Prime and his protege had just got started around noon when a small protest march against Police violence passed us. They were in particular calling for a full and independent enquiry into the death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 and against the use of indiscriminate violence against civilians at peaceful protests.

The small band made their way past silently and peacefully (this is nearly all of them) the mood was very sombre, like a funeral with lots of people in black.

…consisting largely of students, families, the elderly…

What's all this then?

…as the cavalry and packed battle wagons bring up the rear an officer stops to check out what Prime is up to …

….and the packed wagons roll by and keep coming, and coming and coming, very intimidating given the circumstances, and I wasn’t even marching.

The march passed and we all carried on painting with the memory of Ian Tomlinson and other innocent victims of state violence in mind. Rest In Peace.

I started to add my ELATE above Mark’s character.

Prime started on the orange 3Ds and the purple-red outline.

Considering it was made up on the spot at short notice, with a hasty outline, made to squeeze between two characters, use up the leftover colours and fit in with the ‘inclusive’ theme of the project, I’m happy with it

Mark with his finished character.

Meanwhile the finishing touches start to go onto the main masterpiece …

Das owner of Shoreditch’s new Rarekind Gallery is using Belton’s amazing new Transparent Black to do the 3D modelling on some of Prime’s floating spraycans, it’s available at their shop opposite this wall as is pretty much anything else a graffiti writer might need.

Lastly Prime defines the peaks of a metropolis that emerge from the water, next to a character by Tizer.

Prime ‘09

Get down and see this while it lasts….

Yes these guys are actually varnishing Prime’s piece not buffing it!!!