East London’s street art scene is an incredibly dynamic and
ever changing entity – much the same as the area in which it thrives.
As with other places around the world, the street art scene here
started out as a way for outsiders and non-conformist artists to express
themselves in the public domain without feeling the need for anyone’s approval
and showing a complete disregard for other people’s judgement. In doing so they
discovered a unique platform to engage with an audience - whether that
unsuspecting audience wanted to be engaged with or not.
Ironically, at the same time that traditional letter style graffiti
was reaching new heights artistically and being exploited commercially, it was
causing increasing discomfort with the authorities and becoming ever more frowned
upon by the general public. With late night security being implemented in
railway stations and CCTV cameras appearing just about everywhere, writers were
afforded less time to paint and this inevitably resulted in more and more arrests
and prosecutions.
During the early nineties people looked for new ways to work
and stencils and paste ups fast became the new mediums of choice. These methods
allowed artists to do the lion’s share of the work at home or in their studio
before executing the final piece onto the streets in a matter of minutes – even
seconds. Street art exploded.
The styles and artists at this point still however had many
similarities to the spray paint art that preceded it; artists painting freehand
characters, like the Burning Candy Crew, wanted to ‘get up’ in unreachable and unprecedented
spots – taking back space which they felt was rightfully theirs. They
challenged ideals and made their own rules. Political statements and satire was
rife with leftist and anti-capitalist overtones within the new street art
movement. There was a feeling of a new punk-style spirit emerging within the
East End. People asked new questions of society like; ‘if an advertiser can put
up a billboard, why can’t we paint a wall?
In the meantime the Shoreditch party and squatting scene was
reaching its pinnacle. In the wake of Blitz bombings and unwanted, abandoned
ex-industrial buildings, an outsider’s playground resided by a new creative
community had emerged. People could go out all night without a plan, without
knowing where they were going or where they’d end up but having some
undefinable feeling that in some way it was theirs. They belonged to it - and
it belonged to them. Hangouts like the (old) Dragon Bar were rammed every
Friday with people drinking, scoring and painting the walls and toilets. People
scoped out abandoned spaces and made their own parties. There was a plethora of
clubs, squats, legal and illegal parties on any given night all existing under
the radar of the mainstream. The new street art movement and Shoreditch went
perfectly hand in hand.
Shoreditch inevitably became popular, more bars and
restaurants began popping up – as did their prices. This inevitably had a
detrimental effect on the creative scene and prices began to push out the
people that had created it. People flocked to a cool new place, and bit by bit
began to tame it and shape it into something more manageable for the
mainstream. From the authority’s point of view, like any counter culture
movement things couldn’t be contained so they became controlled.
At the same time street art began to feature on people’s
radars. The quality of the art grew to new levels, which in turn made it more
accessible to the masses. Like skateboarding, breakdancing or playing the
guitar, people took up street art because it was cool. Galleries began selling
street art, most were and still are artist run and started out because of their
genuine love for it and desire to give artists a platform to reap the rewards
they deserve. Others obviously had their own agenda, but either way this
allowed street artists to travel the world to paint walls and use the gallery
system as their financial vehicle. The floodgates had opened an in came some of
the world’s best street artists to paint the walls of East London – and then
the Tate Modern.
This explosion of art on walls and a new street art economy
made those that were elected to represent the people of East London
increasingly uncomfortable. To them this was happening in an area that needed
extensive re-development, an area mapped out as the new silicon-valley but more
importantly an extension of the financial district. If you’re going to build
five new skyscrapers in three years, the people that are going to work in them
need somewhere to live. East London found itself in unique position due to its
geography. Anywhere else, this creative district would be celebrated, but not
when it’s in the way of a new real estate goldmine.
The area has recently done well to adapt to becoming the
‘tech city’ during the week and a mini Essex on a Friday and Saturday night.
People have always moved in and out of this area; from the Huguenots in the
1650’s to the Jews and The Bengalis - it’s always been transient. The danger
this time is that it is under a greater threat from greedy developers that are
on the verge of changing it forever and the latest arrivals are too ignorant or
just don’t care enough to do anything about it.
East London’s street art scene has now seen a permission
culture emerge which has completely adapted the street art landscape and this works
in two ways. Firstly: it gives an artist the opportunity to spend time and effort
on a piece of work without the threat of prosecution, so the level of art is at
times, staggering. Secondly: we now have ‘gate keepers’, who are trying to make
a quick buck out of the scene and feel they have the right to curate the
streets like it’s their own private gallery. We then lose political statements
at a time when we need them most and artists sell to the highest bidder. It’s
no longer street art, merely pretty pictures on walls. Artists repair their
pieces like they own them, when the whole point of street art is to be
ephemeral – tags are just as important as those staggering murals, people need
to understand the scene as a whole before they get involved.
I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with and work with some
of the best street artists in the world. When my favourite artists say they’ll
never do a commission because they don’t want to be told what to do and keep
their work cheap for the masses it gives me the highest level of respect for them.
When I’m on a rooftop watching them paint illegally with the skyscrapers
bearing down on us I know who they’re doing it for – themselves, the community.
At heart they are outsiders and non-conformist artists out to express
themselves in the public domain without feeling the need for anyone’s approval
and showing a complete disregard for other people’s judgement.
A world renowned street artist once said to me ‘street art is a bit like
punk music, it’s for anyone that wants it and everyone that doesn’t – you don’t
have to be a virtuoso to create it or an expert to appreciate it’. Band wagon
jumpers will come and go but as long as there are artists with attitudes like
this, the street art scene will be safe.
As for Shoreditch, who knows? But as long as we still have
projects like Red Market and others giving us an alternative playground, people
painting walls and still feeling like we belong to it and it belongs to us,
we’ve got a chance.
Gary Means, Alternative London 2013.
