Shoreditch is an art district, the birthplace of hipsters and the center of London’s street art.
It borders on the central area of London City, but at the same time it is its complete opposite.
City is about skyscrapers, glass and metal, offices and working intelligentsia.
Shoreditch is chaotic and shocking in art and in residents…
Street art in Shoreditch is constantly changing and you can explore the street artists who are not afraid to paint over old graffiti.
Although there are cult works, they remain for a long time.
So why is there so much graffiti in Shoreditch?
and Is it legal?
Let’s figure it out together...
Why Is There So Much Graffiti in Shoreditch?
Because it was a cheap area where poor creative youth came and created something unique.
After this place became famous, turned into a brand, and prices immediately rose, real estate became more expensive.
Literally on every corner there are masterpieces of street art of different themes and directions.
Each drawing has its own story and subtext – political, social or philosophical.
For those who want to find hidden masterpieces, special excursions are held.
If you’ve ever wondered where the hipsters with beards, barbershops, vintage clothes, who sit in bars with wooden counters and tiled walls, came from, it came from Shoreditch.
It was not so long ago – about 15 years ago, but by the time hipster culture has spread around the world, it is already degenerating in Shoreditch.
The area is gradually becoming a monument to itself.
Is Street Art Legal in Shoreditch?
Yes, Shoreditch is legal for graffiti in London.
The whole of Shoreditch is a zone intended for graffiti.
Graffiti became the main attraction of Shoreditch.
Local graffiti artists say that a suitable wall can still be found.
But if you really try.
At first glance, everything is painted, and if you see a clean wall, it means that tomorrow there will already be graffiti on it.
Street art today is not only aerosol and cans.
For example, The Portuguese Vhils, works with a perforator, chisel and screwdriver, and sometimes even with dynamite, literally gouging his work into the wall.
From the explosion in the wall, an eye is obtained – however, only in one case out of three.
You can easily walk past his work without noticing the face on the shabby wall.
But if you focus your eyes, the details are combined into one image.
Where Is the Street Art in Shoreditch?
Brick Lane.
Brick Lane has become one of the most famous streets in London in recent years, thanks to the book of the same name by Monica Ali, released in 2003 and later filmed.
Part of Brick Lane is the Banglatown center, created on the principle of the Chinatowns that exist in many metropolitan areas.
Brick Lane today has a popular Sunday Up Market and many small vintage shops which are open every day.Today Spitalfields sells antiques and vintage art objects on different days.
The number of creative and free people in the neighborhood is off scale…
Shoreditch is the busiest area of the city.
It becomes silent only for 40 minutes – around 6 in the morning – the rest of the time outside the window there is always something rattling, buzzing and carousing.
It seems that the locals have a nervous system of steel.
Inevitably, in a couple of days you get imbued with the rebellious moods of this area and begin to understand why all street artists without exception, numerous galleries and offices of advanced companies are drawn here.
Up the street, at the intersection with Buxton Street, rises The Old Truman Brewery
Beer has been brewed here since 1666, but due to cheaper imports and a number of other economic problems that the brewery could not overcome, they had to close in 1989.
The area is now the cultural hub of East London.
More than 200 small businesses have found shelter here: fashion and graphic designers, artists, photographers, architects.
A dozen restaurants and bars that offer the most varied program.
Brick Lane is not the only market and historical site in the area.
The Old Spitalfields Market, although located a little outside of Shoreditch, should be mentioned here, because its roots stretch back to the distant 1682.
Here, surrounded by all sorts of things, it is recommended to take a breath in one of the gastronomic cafes and think about the further route.
As my friends in London say – Yolo (You only live once).
Where Can I See Banksy in Shoreditch?
In Shoreditch, Banksy’s main work is located at the back of the Cargo nightclub on Rivington Street.
This is an image of a policeman with a dog who, instead of catching street artists, defends their rights.
The inscription on the wall says that this is a zone intended for graffiti.
The painting has become a real symbol of the area: the whole of Shoreditch is a zone intended for graffiti.
One of the first artists who decided to abandon type and make street art figurative was the famous Banksy.
His art was made possible by the new stencil technique that he actively used.
The artist himself says that this idea came to him when he once again ran away from the police.
“I had to hide under a dump truck for over an hour,I was lying there listening to the cops looking for me, and engine oil was dripping on me.
It was then that I realized that I would either have to halve the time allotted for drawing, or quit everything altogether.”
A stenciled plaque was nailed directly over Banksy’s head.
So he came up with the idea to draw according to a pre-prepared template.
Artists make stencils at home, and on the street they only apply them to the wall and spray paint.
When an artist paints quickly with a pre-made stencil, the risk of being caught is reduced to almost zero.
So branded rats, monkeys and funny sketches of Banksy spread throughout England.
At first, the police fought desperately with the impudent artist and ruthlessly destroyed his work.
But soon his art gained such popularity that Banksy’s graffiti began to be protected with plastic shields and even kidnapped, cutting right along with a piece of the wall.
