Graffiti Seen #1

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In this issue: Gent 48 New so Lisk bot Void One Zin er Lost Souls Mustard Tiger Golden Boy Phil th & a ton more! Don’t believe me. Take a look see....

No.1 Jan.2015

Olly MacNamee - words & pictures

GRAFFITI It all started with Lucy McLauchlan.

whom I have even got to know personally. This then, is dedicated to them. This is to spotlight not only the individual unsung talents of Brum, but the talents of Birmingham itself, long overdue recognition as one of the UK’s (nay, the world’s if Rough Guide can be believed) greatest cities.

Oh, and if you’re not familiar with content published via issuu, I’ve made it easier for you. Whenever you see a name or title in bold, it’s a hyperlink. Use them to learn more about some of the artists featured and get to know them virtually if not literally. After all, we’re not all lucky enough to live here.

I’ve now lived here for over a decade and am proud to call it my home.

Olly MacNamee Words and pictures

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For most of my life I’ve loved two things: comics and graffiti, with many of the early New York writers taking inspiration from the very same four-coloured comics I read voraciously as a kid. I still do. Here was an artform I could relate to more than any Van Gogh or Picasso. Graffiti spoke to me in a way that the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood never could. But, growing up in the relative backwaters of North Wales, there was very little opportunity to get involved. My talents never got off the page, I’m afraid to say.

But, I digress.

While collecting my weekly fix of comics from the ever-friendly guys at Nostalgia and Comics here in Birmingham, I got used to staring across the road at an original Lucy McLauchlan (pictured) homed on an otherwise plain, blank wall. I took a photo of it once and then forgot all about that photo. After all, I could see it in all it’s maginificent glory each and every week.

Or so I thought.

One week, while picking up my stash I noticed that the intricate monochrome skills of McLauchlan had been viciously and callously been painted over in the most horrendous of all colours: grey! Who’s idea it was is beyond me, but it did get me thinking. The very nature of graffiti is it’s inevitable transience. Here today, gone tomorrow.

So, without further ado, I made it a personal mission over the course of 2014 to document as much graffiti I could in and around Birmingham. Admittedly, I have remained focussed on Digbeth, but then this does seem to be the central hotspot for graffiti in Britain’s scond city. And with the extremeley successful City of Colours Festival back in September, I ceratinly chose the best year to start snapping artwork from Birmingham’s many, many talented artists, some of

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So, world, welcome to Birmingham’s very vibrant and lively graffiti scene. Enjoy the view.

Lucy McLauchlan

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Liskbot

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Gent 48/newso

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Gent 48/’NEWSo

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Ziner

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Bradford Street

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City of Colours

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Birmingham: A City Swimming in Colours Originally published in Huffington Post A sunny warm weekend back in September saw Birmingham's famous Custard Factory and the surrounding area explode with music, street food and most important of all, graffiti art in all shapes, sizes and forms adorning each and every wall of Digbeth, as we celebrated the first City of Colours free graffiti festival with a bang. This is one of those times when the use of more than one exclamation mark would be justified and from what I saw and I am sure it won't be the last we see of City of Colours. I already envision this one-day event becoming an annual fixture in the calendar for years to come. I already know they are planning another one next year.

Organized over ten months by Karl Jekyll Paragareen and Becci Wright, with support on the day from an army of volunteers, local pubs and eateries and over 120 graffiti artists from all over the United Kingdom and beyond, what may have started off as a word-of-mouth exercise in the early days of the project steamrolled on to become a brute of an event busting at the scenes with families, the ubiquitous hipsters (yes, we have them here in Birmingham too) and at one point a wedding party that had wandered into the revelry and were happy to stay. I'd like to see their photo album from their special day.

I had worried that maybe this was a day that would only attract the die-hard fans and a few others. But, with a strong focused assault on local media outlets and great outreach work with local schools situated in the less affluent areas of Birmingham earlier this summer, as well as warm-up events across the city, this was a run away success on all fronts. The sun was out and the beer and cheer was flowing as people moved round the streets of Digbeth and The Custard Factory complex taking it all in. In just the courtyard area alone of this famous Birmingham landmark at any given time of the day you could witness live rap battles hosted in the relatively new Oobleck venue (part of the excellent Alfie Bird's bar), an indoor pop-up market that offered an affordable art sale (I nabbed a Gent 48 print as soon as I got there as they were going fast) and a wall for anyone to doodle upon. This gave the swarms of children one of many chances over the course of the day to release their inner artist, along with graffiti and breakdance workshops as well as the welcome return of high-end trainer mart Sneaks and Peaks and Dead Pixels, the latter a monthly Hip-Hop and old-school gaming night held in The Bull’s Head, Moseley. DJs provided the beats throughout the day as artists meticulously went about creating their mammoth works of art over many a wall- as well as a lasting legacy for the city - and at one point on the floor-to-ceiling glass frontage of indie movie house The Mockingbird as local hero Lisk-bot battled it out with London based Captain Kris in a high noon spray-off. Needless to say, the local hero won on crowd applause as both then got off and got on with their individual pieces just round the corner and down the road.

Every local business seemed to be involved, and not just tenuously as is often the case when they feel they can soak up some of the passing trade, but knee-deep. The Old Crown (Birmingham's oldest pub dating back to the 14th century) not only helping out with barbequed burgers, break beats and beers but give their car park over to several artists to paint their varied visions on free standing boards.

Local boys Void One and That Bloke Wilson as well as over a dozen more were painting all day in the late summer sun, a thankful bonus that could only add to the event. I began to wonder whether the big guy in the sky was a graffiti fan after the cold weather we'd had running up to September.

As the families went home to suffer the trails and tribulations of Saturday evening television the day only moved into another gear. The music was turned up to eleven and autumn's final of Secret Walls got underway to compliment the main festival; a clever and appropriate synergy of the two different events. Over the 90 minute battle new King Trou outdid Mr Millerchip with his Leo Baxendale influenced art style to win the day, under close scrutiny from many of the artists from the day with familiar faces from the Uk scene, Hoakser, Foka Wolf and The Lost Souls with too many more to mention right here right now anyway.

This could and should be a two day event, especially given how many of the hard working artists on the day returned early the next morning to continue working through a balmy Sunday and into the early autumnal evening. Keats can keep his rustic autumnal mists and mellow fruitfulness; City of Colours on Sunday was Birmingham's very own contemporary ode to autumn.

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City of Colours

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City of Colours - artists at work

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City of Colours - artists at work

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Lost Souls (London)

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Lost Souls (London)

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City of Colours - the bigger picture

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Well, that’s your lot for this inaugural issue of Graffiti Seen. As you can see, I was keen to focus on the art and allowing it to speak for itself. If this first issue goes well then I can imagine a more regular publication rate (more than one a year which was my original thought) and maybe even the odd interview or two.

We shall see.

This ‘magazine’ was a labour of love and all it cost me was my time and effort. Given that this was a scene I have followed and supported since a teenager, I don’t see this endeavour as anything less than fun.

Thanks to online publication sites such as the one you are no doubt reading this on, self-publishing can be a reality for anyone with a passion and/or an idea. So, what’s stopping you?

If you have come across this either on purpose or by accident (the latter, I imagine) then please feel free to share. I mean, there’s no point pouring over photo after photo and editing them together in some sort of sembalance of a magazine only to find ther’s no readership out there.I ain’t a graphic designer or photographer and don’t claim to be either, but it’s amazing what can be achieved with a bit of trial and error.

So, spread the word and stay in contact.

Following me on Facebook or Twitter (@ollymacnamee). If you are graff artists, then please don’t be a stranger. As I said at the start of thsi mag, and now again at the end, Birmingham has a lot to offer but often is too modest to boast to others of the skills and talents that can literally be seen on ever corner of this beautiful city.

Thanks for the support. Now, go out and support your local artists and your local graff scene as many pieces are here today but gone tomorrow.

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No.1 Jan.2015

all words & pictures, copyright - Olly MacNamee