Categories
Street Art

London International Paste Up Festival 2022

Graffoto loves street art, we love graffiti, we have a passion for stencils and are often blown away by stunning murals but when it comes to good old “art by anyone” street art, the paste up is the king.  Paste ups are the often overlooked ugly sister of street art.  When was the last time […]

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Street Art

Portland and NY gang up on Shoreditch

Gang mural: City Kitty, RX Skulls, Toastoro, Voxx Romana and local friend Wrdsmth This August a group of street artists from Portland, Oregon as well as their friends from other ends visited Shoreditch to bless the public realm with their creativity. Various combinations of this group have been visiting Europe regularly over the years and […]

Categories
Graffiti Street Art

Helch – The Dog’s Pollocks

It being that day, Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral, I decided to go out graff hunting and what a great decision that turned out to be. “Helch Watch” has been running for several months following the addition of an incomplete piece of graff close to our hood in May. Helch, May 2022 Helch, May 2022 […]

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Graffiti Street Art

Carnival of Graffiti

Carnival Route Westbourne Grove Carnival returned to Notting Hill this weekend after a COVID hiatus of 3 years, this meant the return of one of the best and most temporary HOFs (Hall of Fame) going – the Notting Hill Carnival shopfront hoardings. Notting Hill One person who played a major role in grabbing the head […]

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Street Art

NoveLondon Miro Bugs

Street art from the artist Novelondon has appeared around Shoreditch within the past week and there is nothing we love more than delicious new art from an unfamiliar artist. Novelondon vs The Rolling Stones Novelondon in Shoreditch. August 2022 Novelondon’s new street art combines characters and text with the unmistakable influence of Spain’s Miro. The […]

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On My Travels

Birmingham Street Art – More than Just Banksy

“It’s A Brum Ting” has been the signature of the past fortnight as Birmingham hosted the Commonwealth Games. So what is it about Birmingham, why is it so great? Armed with a cheap cheap day return rail ticket I set out several weeks back to discover what Goldie, Trevor Francis and Banksy (might have) appreciated […]

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Book Review

Banksy Antonelli and Marziani Book Review

Banksy, the best known living artist, is an enigma with a perverse attitude to celebrity status and personal information. In an age where non-entities share every plate of food, change of eyeshadow and ill-advised swimwear hot, this is this is a major anomaly. Anonymity and secrecy fuels curiosity so there have been many books about […]

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Street Art

Jean Peut-Etre and Boxitrixi batter Brick Lane

Jean Peut-Etre and Boxitrixi (also feat My Dog Sighs) A wonderful new batch of paste ups from a pair of overseas artists really gave a huge make over to some of Shoreditch’s paste up halls of fame. Jean Peut-Etre and Boxitrixi We can see…. Jean Peut-Etre and Boxitrixi Jean Peut-Etre is from France, quelle surprise, […]

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Street Art

Pride Street Art In Shoreditch

  Last weekend marked London’s main 2022 Pride celebration and a lot of new street art appeared in Shoreditch in celebration of and support for the LGBTQ community. On the Shoreditch Street Art Tour on Sunday I was asked by one guest why the London Pride was in July rather than June as they were […]

Categories
On My Travels

Daytripping – Cardiff Street Art and Graffiti

Any excuse to blow the London vapours from the lungs will do so my travels recently took me to Cardiff thanks to a cheap rail ticket promotion. Cardiff is the capital of Wales and, as a specimen of street art informs me, the 6th most “at risk” city in the world from rising water levels. […]

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Street Art

Extraordinary Portrait Painter Dale Grimshaw’s Street Art

  Double portrait, 2016 Street artist Dale Grimshaw featured in a brilliant BBC programme on TV last night so here is a little profile of Dale’s street art pedigree and a huge recommendation that you to catch up with Dale’s moment of TV glory. Dale Grimshaw work in progress, 2019 In the early years, from […]

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Street Art

Street Art Solidarity With Ukraine

Three days ago Russia invaded Ukraine.  Street artists in Shoreditch have united with the rest of the world in putting out street art with messages of solidarity with Ukraine and revulsion at war breaking out on the European continent. This afternoon (Sunday 27th February, 2022) these pro Ukraine messages were seen in Shoreditch, shown dovetailed […]

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Street Art

Enigma In Shoreditch

Just suppose someone decided the missing ingredient in street art was monochromatic medieval woodcut images of public hangings or fantasy horror representations of bizarre sea creatures attacking intrepid seafarers venturing beyond the realm of worldly knowledge. Japanese street artist Enigma has stepped up to fix this obvious void in Shoreditch’s globally acclaimed street art scene. […]

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Street Art

Street Art v. Graffiti starring Jim Vision

Should this Shoreditch Street Art Tours post start with an apology to the spraycan virtuoso Jim Vision? Perhaps. Last night [31 Dec 2020, new Years Eve] we held a short notice online virtual ramble through some of the art that provided great food for thought on the Shoreditch Street Art Tour in 2021. With the […]

Categories
The Year In Review Uncategorized

What Graffoto saw in 2021

Well done 2021 for having the audacity to follow a totally weird year with an equally weird year, way to go! Although life was not “business as usual” the year did yield some wonderful street art with unexpected and inspired new forms of creativity and a re-evaluation of the significance of paste-ups. We are delighted […]