London

Walking around Brick Lane, Tower Hamlets and multistory car parks with my camera... not exactly surreptitious behavior, but survived the back alleys nevertheless. Just felt like uploading these cuz some of the graffiti in this area is fucking magic shit, it blew my mind.
Was in the same place with Beth on a different occaision and took loadsa pics on my Pentax... We'd been traipsing around really pretentious galleries in Cork Street all day, which were selling pictures of stripes for £60,000 no joke, and whose secretaries actually came out and told us to "move on", because standing outside their gallery made them LOOK bad... Seriously??
Anyway we finally escaped to East London and found THIS, and it was like a colourful exciting breeze. So much more expressive and real and truthful, I love it, I love graffiti so much, it's so INVOLVING and from the heart. It's like, completely raw and creative and I love the fact it's in the streets and can be seen by anyone. I love how humorous and clever and sarcastic it can be, I love how surprising it is and how it fucks some people off, I think that's a good thing. It illustrates a disgusting boundary in our culture whereby some people on a power trip will try and ruin someone else's freedom of expression by fighting against things like it; Oh, it's on a wall; it's in the STREET; IT'S ON THE COUNCIL'S PROPERTY. Christ what the fuck? Graffiti's art, art doesn't have to be in a gallery, all boxed up and framed. It perfectly shows how people like regulation and lines and things to be where they're meant to be, and how we're all living under the duristicion of someone else... I love how it's challenging. A challenge is always good. I love how it is what it is: it's not hung in an exhibition with a ridiculous price tag, it's just there. I love the fact it was done by someone and you don't know who they are, yet it's so personal at the same time - so much of what I saw was in memory of someone, or somebody's tag, whatever...

So anyway. Now I've ranted at you I'll stop writing cos this is meant to be  PHOTOOO blog, and some digitals of Tower Hamlets graffiti will get uploaded ay.ess.ay.pee, soon as Blogspot feels like it. For some reason they won't work at the moment... SORT IT OUT BLOGSPOT. SORT. IT. OUT.