Results matching “paint”

While developers were working on the warehouse near Dinerama in Shoreditch, a gate that is usually boarded up and obstructed became clear so that I could peek inside at a nearly three-year old piece of street art by Fintan Magee. In the summer of 2013, Australian-born Magee painted the huge wall at Old Street and Rivington Street with a picture of two men fighting on a boat (covered here), known as "Survival of the Fittest". The following year, Magee and fellow artist Askew One showed off some of their work at an exhibition known as "Oceanic" and painted the walls in the venue where their work was exhibited.

Fintan Magee's piece depicts one man with his face to the ground while another lays on that man's back, with their backs together, and reaches for the sky. Magee's art style is always dramatic and often shows opposing forces. Unfortunately, I could not get a good view of Askew One's contribution to the side wall because it is on the side and covered with a wooden panel. 

In addition to the walls where the exhibition took place, Fintan Magee also painted another wall while in London during this visit. Readers may remember when I covered Magee's high-profile piece on Hanbury Street (off Brick Lane) depicting two astronauts, titled "Two Men Fighting Over the Moon".

Sr. X, a street artist from Spain, painted on the Village Underground wall about a month ago; the subject of the mural (which is still intact) an older man with a beard. I covered the artwork in my post here. He's recently returned to paint on the sign on the rooftop of the Village Underground. This time, his work appears as an advertisement with the words "Buy Shit!".

The artwork is in the vicinity of work by other popular street artists, including Christain Nagel's mushrooms and Millo's black and white illustrations.

Additional work from Sr. X can be seen here:

Redchurch Street art
Collaboration with Zabou

A couple of weeks ago, I went to explore the disused Down Street tube station in Mayfair. Down Street is on a side road between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner, and the Piccadilly Line served this station. The station was not open for very long. It was opened in 1907 and shut its doors in 1932 due to lack of use. Its placement here was controversial because many people that lived in the area did not use public transport. Although it was closed in 1932, it had a new lease of life in 1939 as a secret headquarters for the railway board executivies during World War II. It is often referred to as "Churchill's Secret Bunker". The staff at TFL (Transport for London) are continuously researching and discovering how the station was used during the war times, but most of the government secrets are off limits currently and won't be accessibly by the public until 2040.

The tube station is easy to notice because of its glossy tiles that identify it; in Down Street's case, the tiles are dark red. The large arched windows and wide doorways also identify it as a tube station, although one of the doorways has been bricked over while the other is home to a small shop.

Upon arriving on the train/platform level, we were told about the station's use during World War II. The first bit of tunnel was sectioned off and became the area for typists. The walls were painted a mustard yellow colour, and we could see where the floor was levelled and the partition wall was added on one side. The side with the partition wall formed a room with an aisle down one side. The aisle was just large enough for a tea trolley (or a person to walk single-file). On this wall, there are directions to the Enquries and Committee Room, and there's "Way Out" signs in the same style on other walls. Before the room was a gas seal-off door, and there were several of these throughout the station. The rooms were all purpose-made, and the public was not aware of the secret bunker here.

We were also shown the glow-in-the-dark strips along the lower part of the tunnel walls, which enable visitors to find their way in case the electricity is off.

The next tunnel was also divided into rooms: offices and the committee room. One of the rooms here was where Churchill stayed during bombing raids. Throughout our tour, we were shown photographs on the wall of people inside these rooms, and we could identify where walls, lights, and clocks had been attached. In the photograph above, the placement of the table in the photograph is outlined on the floor. The aisleway would have been to the left, and the flooring also demonstrates how the rooms were broken up.

Off of the meeting room, we were shown the toilets and bath facilities, which were located through a door that went up a staircase. These separate rooms were divided up with the facilities. Apparently the women had to kick up a fuss to have separate facilities. The furnishings were also top of the range. The next few photographs shows some of these rooms and what remains.

Further down the hallway, we came to the section where we could see the tube train passing between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner on the Piccadilly Line. There were sections throughout the remainder of the tour where we could see the trains, separated by just a thin wall. We continued until we branched off into a separate tunnel where the exchange and switch board are located. These were located in two separate rooms. 

The switch board has fine wooden panel, which we could see by shining a light to it.

Opposite the switchboard is old-style tiling forming a very Art-Deco "Way Out" sign.

We arrived at further rooms that were used by the executives. Some of these included the original lighting. Many of these rooms were painted grey over the mustard yellow. Someone suggested they may have been painted for preparations on tube evacuation teams or filming a submarine movie.

A map of the layout of the rooms is also present.

We were shown the executive rooms and the bedrooms, and we could see which rooms were fancier because they had wallpaper. After this, we were shown the kitchen and dining area.

The new development and research suggests that the last part of the tour is exciting because it's the area at the back (by the air flow) that Churchill had asked to be purposed into his area. Rooms were created here with a toilet near the top of the step and a room on the left. The room had a phone line that went direct to the USA. They're not exactly sure who used these rooms, but it is clear that they are used by VIPs. A picture of the room is below, but there's actually another similar bricked-up wall a few steps down the tunnel. It's completely bricked up, but it probably has some significance. 

On the other side of this area, we saw more yellow paint, and this is covering the original signage. "To The Trains" can be seen beneath the layer of paint.

Also, the original signage showing the platform directions can also be seen here. Finsbury Park points to the left, and Hammersmith points to the right. Unfortunately, someone ruined the wall and lettering when they installed some ladders and pipework over the top of it.

Next, we saw the lift shaft. My photographs did not come out because there was not enough room to see, and the lighting was not bright enough. On the other side of the lift shaft was the tile manufacturer name Simpson & Sons, who created the tiles. This is a rare find.

Out of the lifts, the commuters would have been directed to the trains via this "To the Trains" sign.

On street level, we received a booklet with more information about Down Street station.

I would love to know more about this station and the history of it as it seems that there's still so much more to know that cannot become the public domain until 100 years are up. Unfortunately, by that time, the people who did work in the tunnels would no longer be able to talk about them.

For readers who have enjoyed this post, I have also visited additional disused and abandoned underground stations in London. I also have a couple of more trips to visit other ones coming up, so be sure to keep following me. Below are previous posts:

Paddock World War 2 Bunker
Aldwych Station
Euston Station Tunnels

On Thursday, at the height of Storm Doris ripping through London and the rest of the country, street artist Amara Por Dios returned to the streets to start off her year of murals in London. Born and raised in Sweden, Amara por Dios has been painting graffiti since she was 12 and she prefers to paint her feminine tribal-inspired characters. These are usually painted in bright and bold colours, usually pink or purple. These have significance to her Chilean and South American heritage, and she moved to London in 2013 and is a regular street artist painting walls in the city. 

Her newest addition is a portrait of two feminine characters in Star Yard.

Previous posts about Amara por Dios in this blog include:

Amara Por Dios and Flesh031 Collaborate on 'Urban Jungle' in Soho
Amara Por Dios paints for International Women's Day
Artista and Atomik (with Amara por Dios)
Street art by Amara por Dios glows in the dark
New street art by Artista, Saki, and Amara Por Dios
Amara Por Dios: Village Underground wall and other walls
New street art on Bacon Street by Amara Por Dios, Saki and others

Street artist Pang has returned to create her first large-scale mural in London this year, named "Carnival of the Weird" which depicts several body parts and faces in odd positions and situations. I originally covered Pang here, when I happened to see a lot of her early ash trays and cowboy figures appear around London's walls. Since then, became well-known in the street art scene and has even collaborated with Ben Murphy and Christain Nagel. She moved to Lisbon in July of 2016.

For more information about Pang, view her official Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pangpangus or her website at https://hausofpang.com

For more posts on Pang, see:

Street art: Pang
Collaboration with Ben Murphy
Collaboration with Christain Nagel

Previously this year, London-based street artist Zabou painted a collaboration piece with Koeone on Hackney Road. This week, she has returned to paint a portrait of Salvador Dali and the crazy mustache, looking intensely at the viewer and holding one of the "melting" clocks that the artist Salvador Dali is famous for painting. The clock has been incorporated into the shutter and falls onto the pavement.

Zabou is originally from France, but she has been based in London for awhile. Her unique style is to create portraits of people, usually depicted in a witty or thought-provoking manner. Previous examples of Zabou's street art can be found on the following links in my blog:

Koeone and Zabou Collaborate
"Keep Out!" Street Art by Zabou
Zabou's 'Cabinet of Curiosity' Street Art
Leake Street Tunnels Street Art, Spring 2016
Recent Street Art by Zabou
Street Art: Zabou

Elly What the Funk (also known as Helen Martin) paints images of people on pages of old novels, newspapers, and sheet music. She pasted up a few of her artworks in London at the end of January and earlier this month. Some of them appear to be in a series with teary eyes while others are more stylised. I do not know much about the artist and cannot find a lot about her online.

Tears and Shhhhhhhhh

No more tears

Valentine's Day tribute

For more information on Elly What the Funk, visit her Pictaram site here: http://www.pictaram.com/user/elly_what_the_funk/856026944

Manyoly is a street artist from Marseille, France. She is a self-taught painter and opened a gallery in her teenage years. She has travelled around Singapore to create and study art. Portraits of women are the primary subject of the artist, who enjoys hearing stories of the subjects painted. Last month, Manyoly went to London and added several colourful poirtraits of women to the walls. Most of the images are multi-coloured, but one uses blues and others are in monotone.

Manyoly pasted these up at the same time as Donk arrived to London to paste up a few pieces of artwork.

Manyoly and DONK

For more information about Manyoly, see the official Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/manyoly.artiste/

Vera Bugatti, an artist from Italy, arrived in London at the end of December in order to paint a massive 9x13 metre wall at the corner of Old Street and Goswell Street in Clerkenwell, London. Bugatti studied art and has painted walls and produced chalk sidewalk art all over the world. Her latest piece in London is a striking one on the massive wall. It depicts a young girl with green hair holding what appears to be a chicken, at quick glance, and wearing a fishbowl on her head. The irregular brickwork of the wall adds to this piece.   

The mural, named "Teratology" has much more meaning. On her website (1), Bugatti claims that the subject is inspired by environmental concerns. She choose to paint creatures with abnormalities, which can be caused by environmental factors and toxic chemicals to alter growth, development, and so on. A longer glance reveals that the rooster is not as it seems as it has furry hooves instead of chicken feet. The mouse on the girl's shoulder appears to have a fish's head, and a random fish is appeared in mid-air. They are abnormal creatures - monsters.

The girl is also not what she seems. When I examined this work, I took note that she stares blankly in space as if possessed (but also in awe) of the creatures. The image reminded me of something in a horror film. She is holding on tightly to the leg of the rooster. According to Bugatti, she is embracing and unwilling to let go of the creature, and her face is child-like, but her arms are not. 

This is really a striking piece and better to see in real life.

1) Bugatti, Vera. My huge wall in London! Street art save my life. http://www.verabugatti.it/my-second-huge-wall-in-london-street-art-save-my-life/

Okuda San Miguel Erice (who paints under the name Okuda) studies and lives in Madrid, Spain. His work normally consists of colourful geometric patterns that are sometimes accompanied with organic shapes. Painting since the later 1990s, Okuda has exhibited and produced artwork all over the world. He's currently exhibiting in London, and he painted a wall on Sclater Street at the end of last week. According to Okuda's Facebook page, the subject of the artwork is a bear (1).

The new piece is a welcome addition to Sclater Street, which I've found to have grown a little dull over the past several months. I am hoping that this is the start of a great year ahead on the street.

For more information, visit the artist's official Facebook page, shown below.

1) https://www.facebook.com/OKUDART-202312969832570/