In the week we discovered new ways to test your eyesight, the photo archive continued to exhibit 20/20 hindsight with visual crackerjacks from the past.
Mr Cenz has a spraypainting pedigree that stretches back over 30 years so it is not surprising that his style has evolved considerably. He is famous these days for intensely colourful portraits with shafts of light and starbursts, those elements are clearly emerging in this 2013 portrait yet at the same time, it is quite different.
Mr Cenz, Ravey St, 2013
The two seemingly abstract paste ups above on the Grant and Taylor sign represented folded garments by Specter from NY who dropped some art works reflecting on visual aspects of the homeless community when over in 2010 for an exhibition in the Pure Evil Gallery.
Next, a pair of east end classics, Sweet Toof and Paul Insect on a paste-up mission around Brick Lane. This pair of beautiful decaying paste-ups has long gone but this 2013 photo also shows Jonesy’s “Sand Tar Nightmare” from 2012 complete with the original Native American headdress feathers which is still up today.
Sweet Toof, Paul Insect, Jonesy, Fournier St, 2012
Graff snapping mate for many years Joe Epstein aka LDNGraffiti, author of street art book “London Graffiti and Street Art” has teamed up with 9 street artists to raise funds for Great Ormond St Hospital. Each artist has created a special version of the book by hand painting the cover, so that’s 9 unique versions of the book.
LDN GOSH Charity Book with Run Art
Italian artist Giacomo aka RUN paints stunning murals around Shoreditch and North London. Flat faced characters express surprisingly intense emotion and always at large scale. This pair of characters competing for the passer-by’s attention dates from 2009. Needless to say that spot on Hackney Road has no sense of that urban dereliction now.
Run, Hackney Road, 2009
Click HERE for a blogpost with more images, details and link to how to support the fund raiser and maybe win one of these fantastic prizes in the #LDNGOSHLottery, keep an eye out as well for further announcements of more prizes.
This D7606 & C3 collaboration from 2013 found a perfect home on the haphazard accumulation of red and white marks on this Blackall St door.
D7606 C3 collaboration, Blackall St 2013
Dan Witz is full on old school street artist from New York who has blessed London with impressive street art on several occasions. Each passion project has been cause driven. It was Guantanamo in 2013 (1st photo) and his “Empty The Cages” anti animal cruelty project in 2014. The joined up element between the two visits was the theme of incarceration and cruelty in both.
Dan Witz, Rathbone Place, 2013
I recently cycled through Kings Cross and can report with pleasure and amazement that the PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals) installation below is still in place. See Graffoto.co.uk Feb 2014 review http://bit.ly/10Cp9pu
Dan Witz, Kings Cross, 2014
The magical power of art to turn humble domestic artefact into art icon has an honourable lineage that ultimately culminates in Toasters! Toasters already came up in Week 2 of #DigginInTheArchives but embedded in this bit of #flashback fun is a cruel selection process as a limit of one image only per artist was imposed #rulesforbenefitofall #rulesapplytoall (according to government deputy Chief Medical Officer Prof JVT when he brooke ranks at the briefing podium to condemn lockdown breaches by unelected shameless creep Cummings).
LDN GOSH Charity Book with Toasters Cover art
Thanks again to Joe Epstein’s fundraiser for Great Ormond St Hospital, the Toasters corner of the archive gets forked over a second time. This stunning appliance from 2010 faced a Roa hare, famously spared the council buff thanks to a public petition. That green board next to the Toaster was the same property that Run characters were on in 2009, see above.
Toasters, Hackney Road, 2010
Every week now it feels like it is time to draw DITA to a close, to get out, do more contemporary but social distanced street art spotting. We are however feeling inclined to err towards the side of the scientific advice and, again in the words of JVT, “not tear the pants out if it”. DITA daily uploads will continue on the Dave Stuart instagram
Check out the previous Diggin In The Archives weekly compendiums starting with week 1 and then hopefully navigate the index to find the rest: DITA 1