Props to Londonist for creating the a London street map outlining where Stik pieces can be seen, even some that have disappeared.
Map Stick Man
Stik started putting his simplistic yet strangely emotive pieces around East London about 10 years ago and they can be seen from Hackney Wick, Well St, Hommerton, Brick Lane and throughout Shoreditch. When I first moved to East London in 2002, I remember spotting them and taking pictures on a snappy snap. Now 10 years down the track I still look out for new ones and this map has even been verified by the man himself.
Crash is clearly a good artist, but really? Mobile phone cases? How about you do a range of those annoying charms that our Japanese friends seem to have on their phones, maybe a collaboration with Hello Kitty, how about a hands free kit or even a multi coloured leather case for your belt…
#majorfail
But having Eric Clapton commission a bespoke guitar well that is worth talking about
I’ve spotted a few mini piece of street art around East London this year but did not know until a little while ago who was responsible, it is a certain Mexican chap called Pablo Delgado.
Lady in red
Delgado is a Whitechapel resident and his pictures kind of depict scenes from the oldest profession in the world, and have a sort of innocent sleaze about them, the best kind in my mind. They are actually a commentary on the gentrification of East London and how everyone in the city is geared towards selling themselves and making cash money in the year of the London Olympics.
'I want to be like those pretty ladies when i grow up'
Fat slags
Ps. I don’t like the idea of London 2012… I might have mentioned tha
Xenz launched his first solo show last week at the Leonard St gallery, it wis titled Cloud Cuckoo Land, which in itself is a great name and where i feel like I am currently residing after a weekend of misadventure in Manchester and Dalston. The collection is a two year project and feels very labrinth-esq.
I was not aware of the ‘Alternative Miss World Competition’ until recently and it feels like it should be something I learned about at school, albeit a very bohemian lefty school where cross dressing, outrageous make-up, sexual cheekiness and crazy loud eclectic music are the norm.
The Alternative Miss World Competition first took place in 1972 when maverick artist Andrew Logan put on what is basically the anti-Miss World, taking the elements of the better known version but subverting it so that anyone could enter regardless of age, sex, size, shape, sexuality and talent, it was all about expression and inspiration. Maybe the best part of the contest was that it was not so much about winning but celebrating diversity, creativity and fun, Logan created something amazing and all because he never knew of any reason to not express himself
Every entrant created wonderful home made costumes in the theme of morning, day and evening wear. Each had weird and wonderful names and walked the catwalk to fantastical music and no little amount of camp draggy theatre.
What made it even more interesting was that it was always a family affair with his 4 brothers mucking in to build, manage and even drag up for the show. His sister has been the only contestant to enter every time it has been staged.
Tea anyone?
The tiny screen 2 at the ICA was the perfect setting to watch The British Guide To Showing Off with fellow dress fancy fans, we were even in the company of two people who had attended many of the events throughout the years as contestants. If you missed it then gutted darling!
Every guest gets their own hot man to carry you too
It puts to shame the fancy dress parties I go to… although my 30th is around the corner so maybe not…. watch this sparkly space!
Down under the Police have decided, if you can’t beat them, join them. In a rather bold move masterminded by M&C Saatchi the New Zealand Police have taken to their creating their own street art in order to try and recruit new cops.
Cop this
In theory I like this as it subverts the norm and could actually bring the establishment some more understanding and kudos…. but then again there is the flipside. For one it maybe smacks of hipopcracy, does this mean that people caught spraying graf in NZ will be commended on their line work? Secondly, the designs created by Otis Frizzell are hardly original and pretty much rip off work by Banksy…. how much kudos would that give your average savvy graffiti artist?
You never know what is around the corner
In other news Police in London were spotted skinning up L plates in Brixton so they can get the numbers on the drug squads up and in Amsterdam the female officers are wearing their uniforms for ‘evening work’ in the Red light district offering an extra special service.
I have a weird and maybe wonderful and almost certainly disturbing fixation with prisons, in particular American ones, I Sky+ America’s Toughest Jails and am intrigued by the tribal mentality driven by gangs and racism born out of a need to survive. I also find these tattooed, toned inmates pretty damn hot too
Prison love
I am also interested in how prisons try to rehabilitate rather than just punish, I think the vast majority of prisoners have the capacity to change with the exceptions of the clinically insane murderers.
Unhinged? Nah... misunderstood
I have a friend in jail for making a stupid mistake and while he has been in there (3 years) he has knocked the drugs on the head, got fit in the gym, done an accounting course is learning Mandarin and read more books than he can name. This is not always the case and not all prisoners will take the opportunities.
In Eastern Europe a company called Heavy Eco have come up with a great way to harness the latent talent within these institutions , potentially awakening a talent and then donating 50% of the profits to Estonia’s poor and needy. The inmates get paid a small amount and it also means they are repaying their debt to society.
The tshirts sell across Europe and while I would not personally be seen in one even if it meant saving myself from the firing squad on death row in Alabama, I can imagine them doing a roaring trade in Clapham and Balham. Anything that is benefiting chaaardiy is a good thing after all.
So would the two combined make for a great long term
statement, I am not sure but if it was this one then it is yes…
Doodle raaaaa tat
David Shringley held a live art session at ANDFestival or Abandon Normal
Devices for those in the know, punters could have one of his exclusive doodles
scribbled on their arm, then if they wanted to they could get it tattooed on
over the road so it was there forever. Xx was not convinced it was a great idea
but there are far shitter tattoos you could have
David Shrigley was at the ANDFestival which is a regional
event to show new cinema and digital channels. David is part of a trio who have
created Pass me the Spoon on now in Glasgow. It is an opera about food and features
someone getting eaten…looks good but bit far for your friendly scribe to
travel to right now
Launch last night at the Truman Brewery… this reviewer is not going to cover himself in glory to be honest. I was in there for 7 minutes and there were some hot men in there to ogle but my friend was dying for a pee and we had to leave
Who we saving again?
Anyways quick review… Looked alright, was not blown away in all honesty, caravan serving drinks but unfortunately I do not go in for all this cider malarky, so was not interested. Sickboy had created a a confessional booth complete with a pastor to confess to. Now your writer has far far too much to confess so decided to walk away rather than create a bottle-neck up in that place
standardfact 
