How can you say something with images?

1. Street Art London
Frank Steam156 Malt

3. Banksy
A40 Westway, W2

4. 20
Ben Slow
Hanbury Street, E1

5. 21

6. 30
Broken Fingaz Crew
The street art scene in London is
happening. Lots of local legends live
and work here and tons of writers
arrive from everywhere else to leave
their mark. It’s kinda weird that
the authorities can get kinda strict
about it though. Never thought they
would send helicopters after you for
bombing.
Hackney Road, E2

7. 31

8. 42
Conor Harrington
I’m not much good at anything else
and the slightest improvement is
endlessly satisfying. I like creating
new worlds, and painting is all about
that.
Whitecross Street, EC1
Fashion Street, E1

9. 43
Cosmo Sarason
All of my work has some kind of
social commentary behind it. It has
to have meaning and purpose, other-
wise it may as well be wallpaper.
Location and context are everything
and can determine how your work is
read. I did a piece in Hanbury Street
off Brick Lane, it was important to
me that the piece was of relevance
to the local Bangla community and
that I wasn’t just another artist
pissing on their doorstep. When I
went to Bristol just after the Stokes
Croft riots it would have been a moot
point to refer to anything other than
the riots.
Covent Garden, WC2

10. 50
Dank
I have been doing art for my entire
life, ever since I was a toddler. It’s all
I have ever really done, and it feels
integral to who I am. To capture a
mood, atmosphere or particular emo-
tion is what inspires and motivates
me. I’m fascinated by light and the
way it can instantly create a certain
mood in an image. This, I have
discovered over the years, is key to
my art. At the moment there are too
many people doing mediocre crap in
order to sell work. Too many shows
in galleries and then suddenly a few
street pieces appear – all to sell a
print. It seems as if you do anything
on the street in London it validates
you and makes you desirable
in the art market. I’ve tried to stay
away from street art and concen-
trate more on graffiti and large scale
productions that are purely painted
for the enjoyment of creating, and for
the love of going large.
Bethnal Green Road, E1

11. 51
David Walker
I like to paint around East London,
my mother is from Shoreditch,
there’s still a great deal there she
experienced growing up, there’s
something poetic about putting
work on the streets she used to walk
down.
It’s rewarding to do street art in Lon-
don since there are so many people
genuinely interested in what’s hap-
pening here, it’s crazy how quickly
an image spreads before the paint is
even dry.
Money is a relatively recent factor
in street art, it’s had both positive
and negative effects. I think it has
helped the scene raise its game
and created opportunities for many
British artists overseas and also
establish London as one of the most
recognised destinations for this
kind of art. It’s also created some
monsters, but that’s the nature of
the beast.
Making art is a practice that con-
stantly challenges, frustrates and
rewards me and so far I have never
tired of it. I want to push my work
with spray paint further and further
away from the preconceptions of the
art form, I’ve found many new ways
of making marks and using the can,
hopefully my next body of work will
demonstrate a fresh approach to
tackling the medium.
Pedley Street, E1
Rivington Street, EC2

12. 70
Jimmy C
The streets of London show a di-
verse range of local and internation-
al artists, and in certain areas the
walls are changing on a daily basis.
The walls are like an ever changing
gallery; a continual dialogue. I am
trying to add some colour and visual
poetry into the city through the por-
traits that I paint, along with some
essence of the human spirit.
Whitby Street, E1
Brick Lane, E1

13. 71
Sclater Street, E1

14. 80
Mobstr
I’m motivated by addiction, trying to
add something different to our urban
surroundings. Certain walls are
better than others. The more prolific
the better.
Hanbury Street, E1
Tabernacle Street, EC2
Redchurch Street, E2

15. 81
Truman Brewery Courtyard, E1 Hanbury Street, E1

16. 88
Obey
London Pleasure Gardens, E16

17. 89

18. 106
Phlegm
Devenport Road, W12
Heneage Street, E1

19. 107
Devenport Road, W12
Rivington Street, EC2

20. 114
Roa
I wanted to paint something related
to the season and the city and I
opted for one spiny mammal coming
out of hibernation.
When I was younger I often saw
hedgehogs around the city, but lately
they are endangered and are often
only seen as the victims of road kill
during their nocturnal activities.
For me, this roaming hedgehog is a
nostalgic imagery and a metaphor
for springtime and rebirth.
Chance Street, E1

21. 115

22. 130
St8ment
Every day I walk around I see some
new pieces. It’s definitely inspiring
to see this eclectic artwork in town.
I like to confront people with their
own living. What happens when they
see pictures of other people I took
and brought back life-sized? Does
it change their view? I love to get in
contact with people on the streets,
when I bring the artwork into town.
There are so many interesting
people and I don’t want to miss
these encounters.
Blackall Street, EC2
Blackall Street, EC2
Blackall Street, EC2

23. 131
Blackall Street, EC2
Blackall Street, EC2 Redchurch Street, E2

24. 152
Type
Brick Lane, E1

25. 153
Vhills
I believe we are all composed of
many different layers of social and
historical fabric, which ultimately
compose and form us. The environ-
ment we live in is the product of this
same process of layering, and I be-
lieve that by removing and exposing
some of these layers, by destroying
them in fact, we might be able to
reach something we have lost along
the way. It’s all very symbolical. Take
it as a semi-archaeological work of
dissecting layers, trying to under-
stand what lies beneath the surface
of things and realising how ephem-
eral everything really is.
I love those decaying walls with
a darker surface behind, and just
carve the wall and expose its fragil-
ity to the city. By highlighting the
poetic value of decay I try to explore
the ephemeral nature that underlies
all things, but also question the ne-
cessity of catalysing change based
on the practice of development for
the sake of development, regardless
of the social, cultural and historical
heritage razed in its wake.
In London I found a city which is not
polished. In spite of being one of the
major cities in the world, it doesn’t
really put any make-up on, it doesn’t
really embellish itself.
Truman Brewery Cortyard, E1

26. 156

27. 157
Eine & Steve Epso
Curtain Road, EC2

28. London is finally getting its due as one of the
most international hubs for street art today. Its
sooty brick walls are decorated with the liveli-
est and freshest street art in the world from an
array of talent, both international and home-
grown. Street Art London presents a carefully
curated roster of work from global megastars
such as Obey, Banksy, Space Invader and Roa,
to rising newcomers like Malarky and Mobstr.
Publisher Dokument Press is considered
the authority on street art books, and Frank
Steam156 Malt is one of the most respected
and influential street art photographers work-
ing today. The art he captures is accompanied
here by exclusive quotes from the creators
themselves, giving fresh insight to their work.
Street Art London acts as a permanent snap-
shot of an impermanent form in a constantly
evolving environment. What sets this book
apart is its sheer awesomeness, it doesn’t set
out to bring the most “hip” street art, it simply
brings you the best.
9 789185 639588
ISBN 978-91-85639-58-8