Arcadia England

By Amy MacNeill

In the lively city of London you will find buildings and alleys covered in unique and interesting graffiti art, each by a different artist. Here is a way to find the work of some of the most famous and interesting street artists.

Stik

Brown background, two black eyes, and a white body make up the three sole elements of street artist Stik’s enormous mural on Rivington Street in Shoreditch. One word to describe his abstract art is simple. A stick figure or two with a black outlined white body on a basic color background makes up the focus point of each of his pieces. And even though these are stick figures, there is a sense of expression and emotion present with each artwork.

Stik’s delightful and intriguing street art murals began in 2001. Originally from Hackney, London, he now collaborates with hospitals, charities, and homeless organizations. In fact, he was once homeless himself. Although an excellent artist, Stik is mainly self-funded and continues to tackle huge projects with communities around the world.

For further information, the artist has a book, appropriately titled Stik, which features large photographs of his work spanning over a decade and explanations of the motivations behind them. But the best way to learn about Stik is to see the sometimes small, sometimes supersized, art with your own eyes.

Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London UK EC2A. Corner of Old Street and Pitfield Street, Shoreditch, London UK EC1. To learn more or to purchase his book, go to stik.org.

Banksy

Unlike Banksy’s artwork, his identity is very much unknown. He is widely famous for the stylized political graffiti he plasters all around the world, which covers topics ranging from consumerism, terrorism, cops, soldiers, children, and art itself. Born in Bristol, UK, Banksy has gained notoriety with his stencil-art pieces and his illegal hangings of his own work in the Louvre in France and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Other than a graffiti artist, Banksy is an activist, which is clearly evident in his work.

Banksy has made his mark all across London. But unfortunately his graffiti often comes and goes quickly because of the community or other street artists covering it up. Rivington Street in Shoreditch, however, is home to a recognized piece with the stencil work of a policeman and his poodle guard dog. “By order National Highways Agency, This is a designated graffiti area,” says the black words stamped above the pup, which is protecting the region alongside its owner. This influential work is not only slightly humorous, but ironic, much like his other pieces.

The “Designated graffiti area” art will likely stay put for a long while since it lies behind a sheet of protective glass. So for a definite viewing of one of the world’s most popular modern artists, it’s absolutely a recommended spot to visit.

Outside of Club Cargo, off Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London UK EC2A. For more images of artworks go to banksy.co.uk.

Roa

The thin black and white lines of Belgian muralist Roa’s pieces show close attention to detail, and almost resemble pen work. Because of his detailed work, which is always a mural of an animal, the hair and fur is full of life like texture. Roa’s portraits of these creatures are easily distinguished from other artists and display his unique work.

Roa does in fact have a love for animals, which is the motivation behind his street art that can be seen all throughout Europe and America. More specifically, walk down Bacon Street off of Brick Lane in Shoreditch to discover his white pig with black hair portrait under a window, or his extraordinarily large crane mural with a shining eye and sharp beak on the side of a building on Hanbury Street.

On Brick lane where street art is immensely prevalent and diverse, it is almost simple and effortless to pinpoint his stylistic and individualized two-toned work. You can even spot his black and white animals easily while traveling around other areas of London, which makes observing his art that much more convenient.

Bacon Street off of Brick Lane, Shoreditch, London UK E2. Hanbury Street, Shoreditch, London UK E1.

FPLO

The blue, orange, yellow, purple, red and green interstellar monkey near the Water Lane Bridge in Camden Town makes you wonder if you are in a city or somewhere not a part of this world. The lively mixture of these different colors on a cosmic galaxy backdrop is nothing less than aesthetically pleasing. Guide your eye a few feet to the left and you’ll see a similarly colored owl peering at you with its serious yellow eyes. Walk a little ways down A400 Camden Street and you’ll spot a psychedelic skull with the same patterns and blues, yellows, reds, and purples. The loud graffiti pieces of FPLO fit in with the bustling and lively area of Camden and its other colorful art covering the walls.

This is the distinctive style of 1985 born Brazilian street artist Fabio Panone Lopes, a.k.a, FPLO. His graffiti art has been seen in the USA, France, England, Greece, Portugal, Belgium, and Chile among many other regions. It is a mixture of dark lines, filled with vibrant shades. Compelling, beautiful, and worth visiting.

A400 (Camden Street), Camden, London UK NW1. Water Lane, Camden, London UK NW.

Bambi

Stencils, spray paint, artistic talent, and social commentary make up the street art career of Bambi.

Sometimes referred to as the “female version of Banksy”, London raised and anonymous Bambi may very well be Britain’s best-known female street artist. She has decorated the homes of Kanye West, Rihanna and Adele and sold pieces to a long list of celebrities. To make matters more interesting, other than creating artwork about conflicts in the world, she is said to lead another life as a chart-topping singer.

One of her most famous piece is “Don’t shoot” on Rivington Street, which shows five boys with a hand up, one foot on a skull, and behind the blood colored stenciled repeated words “don’t shoot”. This thought provoking piece focuses on the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson and police brutality. It’s best if you stand up close to this one, that way to see on the repeated Nike logo mockery “don’t do it” with a check mark on the boy’s chest.

Go west to Camden Town and you’ll find her piece criticizing the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons in the UK. She painted the famous Thinker statue and stenciled the words “People not trident, only the dead have seen the end of war”. Her unique art is sure to motivate the audience to think and to feel.

Bayham Street, Camden, London UK NW1. Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London UK EC2A