Street Art | Postcards From Here and There

Baltic Triangle Street Art 2019

I first wrote about the street art to be found in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle in September 2018. You can read the original post using the link here. As twelve months have elapsed I thought it would be a good idea to revisit the area and have a look at what was new. Much of the original work first seen in 2018 is still here but this post will just concentrate on that which is new to me. Check the link above to see the earlier works.

The Baltic Triangle is a pleasant 15 minute walk from Liverpool city centre, head out along Paradise Street, turn left onto Park Lane and when the road forks take the right branch which is Jamaica Street. This brings you to the heart of the Baltic Triangle.

Blundell Street is very much under redevelopment but there are a couple of nice pieces on the hoardings surrounding the building work.

The next street is Kitchen Street where you will find this work. I can’t seem to find anything about the artist and there are a number of works of a similar nature closely. If anyone knows add a comment at the end of the post.

The building at the corner of Jamaica Street an Bridgewater Street has a number of smaller works including the ceramic by HEX.

On Watkinson Street Liverpool based artist John Culshaw has created a mural of the ‘Fab Four’, although Ringo does appear to have had one of his teeth coloured in.

The north side of Norfolk Street is now cordoned off for redevelopment work but you can just glimpse the work by PinHeadUK on the corner with Jamaica Street.

The brick wall on Jamaica Street between Norfolk Street and Brick Street has long been a popular location for artists and is home to probably the real most iconic work, Paul Curtis’s Liver Bird Wings and Straw Girl by Irony. Much here has survived the passage of time but there is a couple of pieces I had not come across before. Latvian street artist Kiwie has this work here.

Check Point Charlie is also a relatively recent addition.

Neal Keating’s Game Over is also here.

Vancouver based artiest Emily Gray has created a delicate, pastoral mural which has suffered a little with a tag added but still looks pretty good.

The Liverpool Life Sciences UTC building on Greenland Street has yet another mural by Paul Curtis. You can even become part of this work as a convenient space has been left for you to stand in.

The skate park on Jamaica Street has always been popular with street and graffiti artists. What started out as an advert for the Netflix series ‘Our Planet’ has since been partially overpainted. It was created in March 2019 and showed Pink Flamingoes coming into land on a lake. Only the top section now remains.

On Jordan Street Manchester street artist Aske has created this portrait of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

Paul Curtis has another mural on the wall of Cains Brewery Village. Commissioned by The Beatles Story Museum, in the Royal Albert Dock, for the 50th anniversary of the release of Abbey Road. Paul has created the famous street scene minus the four Beatles enabling you to create your own version of this most famous album cover.

Kraków Street Art

In Kraków street art is to be found in Kazimierz (The Jewish Quarter) and across the Vistula River in Podgórze. You will not find any in the Old Town where the walls are kept art and graffiti free. It is quite possible to visit all major pieces in a couple of hours and there are even a number of Street Art tours that you can join.

These two pieces can be found close to the junction of Bozego Ciala and Józefa Street in Kazimierz. The paste up of Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump is in the style of Grant Wood’s painting from the 1930s entitled American Gothic. In this version a spaceship sits above the White House in reference to the film Independence Day. This piece appeared around the time of the 2016 Presidential elections.

Closeby is this unattributed stencil of Gene Kelly from Singing in the Rain entitled I’m Happy Again.

Further up Józefa Street is a series of murals created in 2015 as part of Kazimierz Historical Murals Project by Piotr Janowczyk. It is a series of five murals of significant people in Polish history. Each mural is accompanied by a plaque giving biographical details in both Polish and English.

Emperor Józef
Helena Rubenstein
Karol Knaus
Esterka
King Kazimierz

At 3 Bawol Square is a mural created by Israeli street art crew Broken Fingaz for the Jewish Cultural Festival in 2014. The mural was created to honour the Bosak Family who lived in the area for 400 years until they were removed from this house and forced to move into the Jewish ghetto by the Nazis in 1941. The mural has been created in black and white to represent the sadness here. Access for photographs is difficult due to a private car park.

The Galicia Jewish Museum on Dajwór Street has three interesting pieces. The large mural on the outside wall of the museum is by Marcin Wierzchowski and is made up of Jewish symbols.

The other two are on the wall of the courtyard which can only be accessed through the museum. These are of two important figures in the Jewish community from the Second World War. Irena Sendler was a nurse who is credited with saving the lives of 2500 children during the Holocaust. In 1965 she was named as one of the Polish Righteous Among the Nations. The inscription alongside the work reads, “people should be divided into good and bad. Race, origin, religion, education, possessions have no meaning. Just what kind of man he is.”

The other is of Marek Edelman who was an activist and took part in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in 1943. Following the end of the war he became a cardiologist and went on to oppose Poland’s communist government. there is an inscription alongside the work which reads “Hate is easy. Love requires effort and sacrifice.”

Close to the museum is this stencil of Clark Gable and the famous quote from the film Gone With the Wind.

Judah depicts a child’s face surrounded by the head of a lion. Painted by Israeli street artist Pie Peled for the 2013 Jewish Cultural Festival. The child is said to depict vulnerability whereas the lion represents strength, together they represent the struggles of the Jewish community to survive. The work is partially obscured by food trucks as the area adjacent to the work has become a popular location for street food and is now known as Food Truck Square.

When street artist Pikaso was asked to produce a mural in 2012 for the Grolsch Artboom festival his original proposal was rejected. In response he painted this self portrait obscured by a thick black line. The piece is entitled “For God’s Sake Censorship is Everywhere.”

Across the river in the Podgórze district Italian street artist Blu created a huge mural entitled “Ding Dong Dumb” in 2012. Located at 3a Piwna it is a challenging and thought provoking work. Painted in the colours of the papal flag it is a comment on the relationship between Polish culture and the Catholic Church.

Closeby at Jozefinska 24 are two murals on either end of a rather unassuming building. Len’s Robot by Filip Kuzniarz which celebrates science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem.

At the other end of the building is the Mayamural. According to Mayan prophecy the world was to end on 21st December 2012. This work appeared just before the actual date.

Heading towards the Schindler factory you pass this work just after the underpass.

Between the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków and Oskar Schindlers Factory is a pathway that leads to an area used as a car park but has also been used as a free walls space for street artist. It is here that you will find a varied, diverse collection of colourful art. As is the nature of these sorts of places the art can be ephemeral with new works appearing fairly frequently. Local street artist Pieksa has a number of works here.

For others I have not been able to determine the artist.

Camden Street Art

Camden is a popular area of London for visitors with its vibrant market, restaurants, bars and shops. The Regents Canal also passes through Camden and gives a slower and peaceful view of the city than the hustle and bustle of the streets above. Not surprisingly with so much to offer it can become a busy place, especially at weekends, so finding a quieter time to visit may be better for some. There is a lot of street art in Camden but the good news is that it is fairly well concentrated around Camden High Street and Chalk Farm Road.

A good place to start is at Mornington Crescent tube station on the Northern Line. On leaving the station turn to the right and head in the direction of Camden Town following Camden High Street. The wall of the Koko club (currently closed for refurbishment) gives you some idea of what is to come.

The first stop is Miller Street which is on the left as you walk up Camden High Street and you will find a wealth of art to keep you interested.

While on this side of the street it is worth seeking out two sculptural pieces.

Urbansolid
Gregos

Crossing over Camden High Street you will find Plender Street and this work on the side of the Alexander The Great restaurant. It is by Italian street artist Alice Pasquini.

Continue up Camden High Street and turn right into Greenland Street and follow this with a left into Greenland Place before rejoining the high street via Greenland Road.

Continue up Camden High Street and pass Camden Town tube station. The Bucks Head public house on the junction with Buck Street has this piece by Aeroarts.

Head along Buck Street and then turn left into Stucley Place.

At the end of the street is the junction with Hawley Crescent where you will find this piece by Gnasher.

At the end of Hawley Crescent turn right back onto the main road and cross the Regents Canal. On the left hand side are Camden locks where you can join the crowds and while away a few minutes watching the canal boats.

The next stop is Castlehaven Road.

Hawley Street and Hawley Mews should be your next destination as here you will find a feast of street art.

The next piece, a collaboration between Himbad and Zumi, has been tagged but ii is still a remarkable work.

At the end of the mews you can see two pieces which are partly obscured by a small cabin. The insects are by Fanakapan whereas Batman and Robin climbing the wall is by SrX.

The colourful mural with parrots is by Graffiti Life and was quite difficult to photograph.

Hartland Road features a large piece by Dan Kitchener, tags now reduce its impact somewhat but it still remains an excellent piece.

Alongside it is a mural by Carmen de Sozer of iconic statuettes.

The final stop is one street further along towards Chalk Farm tube station. Harmood Street has two quite impressive and colourful murals.

This is by no means an exhaustive and complete account of the street art that can be seen in Camden but does show a wide range of work which can be easily seen with a walk between two tube stations. As with all areas the art on display changes frequently so as with all posts of this nature it is very much a snapshot in time.