PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASHES57 TEXT BY PADDY WALSH | LAYOUT BY ALIZEE LASSALE ILLUSTRATIONS BY DELPHINE ETTINGER
FROM LONDON TO NEW YORK 2006-2009
MINDSET
Walking though a city is a visual bombardment; everywhere you look shop fronts, signs and advertisements vie for your attention. Overtime you become desensitised to it, and once you are accustomed to the chaos you learn to tune it out. It gets to the stage where you don’t even pay much attention to your surroundings; the city becomes a backdrop, indistinct and out of focus. Then something catches your eye; a picture painted on a wall. You take the time to look at it, to think about what it might mean. You might not even break stride, but for that instant you are reminded that the city is a habitat where skilful, intelligent and humorous people reside. This volume of photography captures the work of street artists, both well known and obscure. For all these artists, the city is a creative space, with any number of possible canvasses just waiting to be decorated. Berlin, New York and London all feature prominently in collection, 3 cities where street art has flourished into a vibrant and exciting subculture. Some of the artists who feature in this volume have received recognition and remuneration from the art industry; some on the other hand, have not. But what all these artists have in common is a willingness to engage with the city as a whole, outside of the safe confines of a conventional gallery. There are many treasures out there still waiting to be found, hidden away amidst the chaos of the city. I hope the treasures in this book will entertain you, and encourage you to hunt for more.
CONTENT 11 SPRING ST NEW YORK CITY ... 10 BERLINERY ..................................... 26 THE NEW STREETS OF LONDON OBEY TAKEOVER .......................... 54 ON THE LOOKOUT DOWNTOWN SOMEWHERE ......... 68 OBEY ICEBOMBING .................... 176 LOST LANDS AND SCRAP ........... 198 THE CANS FESTIVAL .................... 214
11 SPRING ST NEW YORK CITY 2006 In December 2006, The Wooster Collective opened a spectacular show in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. 11 Spring Street had long been a street art hotspot, and with redevelopment looming, the Wooster Collective were invited to celebrate the building’s history with a send off show. Artists like Shepard Fairey, WK, Swoon and Faile collaborated with countless lesser-known artists to create an incredibly immersive environment.
BERLINERY 2007
What it is that draws artists from all over the world towards Berlin? For one thing it is a forward-thinking city, where street art has been effectively decriminalized in certain areas, paving the way for artworks of astonishing ambition and scale. As well as large-scale jaw-droppers, this chapter contains pieces of minute detail, hidden in the nooks and crannies of this unique cityscape.
THE NEW STREETS OF LONDON 2007 AN OBEY TAKEOVER Obey Propaganda, the brainchild of Shephard Fairey, was a global phenomenon long before his Hope and Progress posters became the iconic images of the Obama election campaign in 2009. Despite hugely successful forays into the world of fine art and fashion, as well as his recent engagement with mainstream politics, Fairey is still one of the most prolific and influential street artists in the world today. This chapter chronicles the Obey production process, all the way from the studio out onto the streets. Anyone who has ever enjoyed Obey street art with cherish these pictures of Fairey and his cohorts doing the dirty work in a range of imaginative, precarious and illegal locations throughout London.
ON THE LOOK OUT SOMEWHERE DOWNTOWN This chapter is a journey through the backstreets of the city centre. Walking round New York, Berlin or London you encounter all kinds of fly posters, stencils, and graffiti pieces. Most of what you see is dispensable, some of it is good, but on rare occasions you find works of sophistication and subtlety hidden amidst the artless scribbles.
BOSTON ICEBOMBING 2009 Once again the Obey Posse takes to the streets; this time their destination is the frozen city of Boston. Despite the hostile conditions they set to work in their own inimitable style, creating their distinctive propaganda images on large and small scales throughout the city.
LOST LAND AND SCRAP YARD Far away from the clean, well-lit promenades of the city centre, lies the reality of life for many city dwellers, the landscape of urban decay. Boarded up buildings, abandoned wastelands and scrap yards make for a seemingly barren landscape, yet here too treasures can be found if you take the time to look.
THE CANS FESTIVAL LONDON 2008 The Cans Festival took place in London during Spring 2008. Banksy took over a disused road tunnel in Waterloo to curate a show featuring his own work alongside artists that he personally selected. The effect was a riot of colour and energy, breathing life into a derelict corner of the city.
FEATURED ARTISTS SHEPARD FAIREY, OBEY GIANT, WK INTERACT, SWOON, D*FACE, SPACE INVADER, BANKSY, FAILE, ABOVE, MR BRAINWASH, GAIA, SKULLPHONE, KEYS, PHIL FROST, BAST, C215, RONZO, LADY PINK, CLAW MONEY, MISS 17, SKKI, NECK FACE, BIG FOOT, FARO, UFO, PERU ANA ANA PERU, BLU, ESPO, STICKMAN, BIG FOOT, DARKCLOUD, DOZE, WORD TO MOTHER, NOMAD, Os GEMEOS, JUST, FASE, RELAX, NEKST, SEARCH 14, MOZES, CAUSE, BO AND MICROBO, TOASTER, FOST, LONDON POLICE, GOOGLY EYES, MOMO, VERA, RUBIN, ELBOWTOE, CAKE, HACULLA, JUDITHSUPINE, BUFFMONSTER, MATTSIREN, JESUS SAVES, BILLI KID BRAND, CELSOM, STICKMAN, GOREB, FRIENDS, FACE, INFINITY, REVS, GIRL, SOYLER, BRANDED, HACULLA, CONOR, JAM, 11SPRING, WOOSTER COLLECTIVE, CHEEKZ, ROYCEBANNON, BOOKER, SKEWVILLE, SANFRANCISCO, ILOVEYOU, MBW, KATSU, MATTSIREN, MICHAELDEFEO, URBAN NERDS, EVIL DESIGN, ONLY JOE, MAGMO, KINSEY, BOONIKA, ZOLTRON, CHICKEN BOY, BYTEDUST, WITHREMOTEELC, AD3, BURNS, TRUCKYARD, BORF, MAN, FLOWER, HEART, ISPY, FLOWERFACEKILLAH, RATE, SKULL. LACMA, MSG, DEUCESEVEN, OCTOPUS, SUB, BIRD, SHINSHIN, ANDRE, BLOKE, BEAR, OPENAIR, TIKIJ, CHRISTIANPAINE, SYNC, FERAL, RAMBO, YOUGOGIRL, DAIN, 5003, FREEDOMTUNNEL, MONSTER, FADE, JAPANESE, LISTER, CREEPER, CDAMAGE, PANO, BEARD, ANERA, ZEROCENTS, ROBOT, ELIK, ROBOTSWILLKILL, PENIS, LOVEBILLY, DOG, LEPOS, CAKE, RTH, SAE42, JAKEDOBKIN, BATCAVE, DOGPATCH, INKHEAD, CAT, SCAREKROE, FTRAINER, VIETNAM. JR, 20MG, FAKEMOVIEGRAFFITI, SEIZER, MOODY, KNOWHOPE, THUNDERCUT, SUIT, HSK, META, IRAK, OHM, FAUXREEL, SWISSCHEESE, COST, GRAFFITIRESEARCHLAB, GNIGHT, MIKEMARCUS, KLONE, VISUALRESISTANCE, MARCO, ARMER, GRAINTERMINAL, ARMSROCK, TWEEKZ, SEMZ, PHALLICMAMMARY, KEY, JEFAEROSOL, GEMEOS, EYES, FKDL, BLEKLERAT, RIBITY, BOT, KID, BLANCO, WALDO, SHAKA, NOEM, PERU ANA ANA PERU AND MANY MORE ARTISTS TO DISCOVER. STAY UP!
THANKS ALIZEE LASSALE, CHANTAL, STEPHANIE ETTINGER & MY FAMILY, PADDY WALSH, DANIEL MORGAN, DAVE Q, DUST (SEBASTIEN LEBLANC), SHEPHARD FAIREY, LOEFAH, RICKY POWELL, SGT POKES, MALA, RONZO, STERN*,GENEVIEVE BARIL, JUAN AND MARIE CASARES AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPORTING MY WORK. WWW.ASHES57.COM | WWW.ASHESTODUST.COM | WWW.LAVACOLLECTIVE.COM | WWW. SWAMP81.COM
ASHES57 2006-2009
Š 2009 ASHES57, SWAMP 81.
All rights reserved. Copyright 2009 by the author of this book, ASHES57. The book author retains sole copyright to her contributions to this book.