Street Art | Postcards From Here and There

Manchester Street Art

Manchester’s Northern Quarter is home to bars, cafés, restaurants, vinyl record shops, designers, artists and musicians. To some it may well be the very definition of hipster, a term that is used for the buzzing creative areas in any city that you visit these days. These are the areas of cities I like to seek out because they are really interesting and I can never resist a vinyl record store. Situated between the the two principal railway stations of Piccadilly and Victoria and north of Piccadilly Gardens it is an urban, gritty area that has grown enormously in popularity in recent years. As with such areas it has attracted street artists and the Cities of Hope festival, held in 2016, saw the production of some major works. Street art by its very nature is ephemeral, constantly changing and evolving, one of the very things that makes it interesting to search out. These are some of the pieces I came across in a short walk around the area, there are no doubt others that I just simply didn’t haver time to locate. The whole fun is to go out and explore.

Hydro has works all over the world and this piece on Brightwell Walk formed part of the Cities of Hope festival and depicts the impact of war on children lives. A blindfolded child holds an AK47 while a menacing, shadowy figure stands behind. It is a very striking image.

Alongside it on Brightwell Walk is a portrait by local artist Tankpetrol of the author Anthony Burgess who wrote the dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange. The inscription reads “We can destroy what we have written but we cannot unwrite it”

French artist C215 has a number of stencil portraits in the city. This piece on Tariff Street raises the issue of homelessness, a significant problem in the city, as elsewhere, currently.

He also has some stencilled images on shutters on the corner of Stevenson Square and Spear Street of which this is just one example.

Across the street is a huge work by the Swiss street art collective Nevercrew. It shows a large crystal with people falling off it from the bottom. It was done as part of Cities of Hope to raise awareness of immigration issues.

On Port Street you can find one of the oldest pieces in the city, by Sheffield artist Faunagraphic, that dates back to 2011. not surprisingly the paint is a little faded in places but it remains a striking image covering the whole side of the building.

Dale Grimshaw created this work to highlight the issue of the independence campaign for West Papua.

I am particular fan of the art that appears on hoardings around building sites and areas of land awaiting development. This is very much here today gone tomorrow in many cases and you have to catch it while you can. The area near the top end of Spear Street and adjacent streets contain some good examples.

One of the points in favour of large scale art works on the sides of buildings is that they are protected to a degree from the influence of others. I particularly like the work by Norwegian street artist Martin Watson on Faraday Street which is a stencil and freehand piece. The leaves on the tree are graffiti tags and it is a really interesting piece created to raise awareness of the environment. Sadly others have added their own tags to the piece.

Also on Faraday Street is this marvellous work by Zadok.

Across Great Ancoats Street and viewable as you cross the road, is this work on the side of Swan Building, in Cable Street by Case highlighting disability issues.

Finally two works that I somehow seem to have failed to note where they were located exactly. The first is on a doorway which may well be on Edge Street and is by Italian street artist Alice Pasquini.

Secret Liverpool Part 2

In Part 1 I detailed some of the more unusual and less well known sights in the centre of the city around the original seven streets. In this post we venture a little further afield but still in and around the city centre and very walkable from place to place.

Lime Street Station. Many visitors to the city arrive at its main railway station but few are aware of art to be found on the station steps and glass panels. “Liverpool to Liverpool – Chronicles of an Aimless Journey” by Simon Faithfull was commissioned as part of the Liverpool Biennial in 2010 and consists of 181 drawings with have been etched into the paving and glass panels. They are not easy to see from a distance but it is well worth a wander to see how many you can spot.

A short walk along Lime Street brings you to the old Lewis’s Department Store. Although it closed for business in 2007 locals still arrange to meet there. Above the main entrance on Ranleagh Street is a statue and three relief panels by the renowned sculptor Jacob Epstein. Its official title is Liverpool Resurgent and represents the rebuilding of the city following the damage sustained in the second world war. The statue of a naked man on the prow of a ship is known locally as Dickie Lewis and has become a celebrated landmark. It has been a popular meeting place for courting couples since it was installed in 1956.

From Lewis’s head up Mount Pleasant unto you reach Rodney Street and the old Scottish Presbyterian Church of Saint Andrew. In the adjacent churchyard is the Tomb of William MacKenzie. Constructed in the shape of a pyramid it is perhaps the most unusual tomb in the city. Local folklore suggests that William, who died in 1851, was a keen gambler and left instructions that he was to be entombed above ground sitting at a card table. Sadly this seems very unlikely as the tomb itself wasn’t constructed until 17 years after he was buried. It does however make for a nice story.

Close by is Oldham Place where the walls are covered in brightly painted murals. If you have an interest in street art it is well worth a visit. Do also take in the yard at the bottom of the street.

Heading back down into the Liverpool One shopping area there is an American Eagle on the former US Consulate building in Paradise Street. The consulate opened in 1790 when Liverpool was a major trading port for ships from the United States. The eagle was easily recognised by American sailors, many of whom could not read or write. As trade declined following the second world war the consulate closed but the eagle remained. Originally carved from pine it required frequent maintenance and renovation so was eventually removed, restored and put on display in the Museum of Liverpool. The bird on Paradise Street today is a fibreglass replica but is no less striking.

Old Dock. The Old Dock was the first wet dock in Liverpool built in the early part of the eighteenth century by Thomas Steers. As Liverpool grew as a port the dock became too small and was eventually closed in 1826. The site was filled in and redeveloped and finally ended up as a multi storey car park which was finally demolished as part of the Liverpool One development in 2001. The dock was unearthed and a viewing window created which is located just outside the John Lewis department store.

Lusitania Propeller. The Lusitania was a passenger liner owned by Cunard which regularly sailed between Liverpool and New York. She was sunk by a torpedo from German U-boat in May 1915 just off the southern coast of Ireland as she was returning to Liverpool. The propellor on display in the Royal Albert Dock was salvaged from the wreck in 1982 and is one of four that were on the ship.

Shoreditch Street Art

Shoreditch and neighbouring Hoxton in the east of London are parts of the city I very much like. Home to a thriving community of independent retailers, cafés, restaurants and bars it is a welcome break from the mass appeal commercial enterprises that blight many high streets. Every visit is an opportunity for exploration, to see what’s new and worth checking out. This visit it was Mikkeller (2-4 Hackney Road), a great addition too the London craft beer scene which actually opened late last year. It’s too easy and a bit of a cliche to say that Shoreditch is the home of the hipster, to me it’s the home of people that like something just a little bit different, whatever that may be, and long may it continue.

There is a massive art scene in Shoreditch and this is no better illustrated than by the street art that abounds in the area. I took the Northern Line to Old Street to begin my exploration but you could just as easily use Liverpool Street or Shoreditch High Street as your jumping off point. Leave Old Street station onto the very busy Old Street and head in the direction of Shoreditch. There is an opportunity to pick up a craft beer or doughnut if you are in need of refreshment. When the road forks take the right branch onto Great Eastern Street and your street art experience begins.

Underneath is this piece by misterthoms.

Mind the Gap! Between Kings and Toys – El Rughi

The artist Eine is well known for large, circus style typography and there is a good example along Rivington Street.

At the end of Rivington Street turn right onto Curtain Road. New Inn Yard is the third road on the left just before you reach Great Eastern Street.

Some of the art here becomes more impressive because of its sheer scale. In 2018 a project began to create a set of murals on the Graffoto Building themed around the idea of connectivity. Each mural was created by a pair of artists and it is simply stunning in its sheer scale and complexity. This thematic piece has elevated street art to a new level in Shoreditch simply by its size. It begins on New Inn Yard with is piece by Lovepusher and Mr Cenz.

Next to this a mural by Nomad Clad from Manchester depicting the pigeon post and letters as a form of communication.

North Seal and Best Ever have created a mural depicting had shakes set within a lattice framework.

At the corner with King John Court Busk and Mr Oliver Switch have created this piece with has now sadly been tagged.

Ed Hicks and Zadik show how a fungal mycelium has many connections in the biological world.

Captain Chris and Tizer illustrate connectivity between the real and imaginary worlds.

Finally, or firstly if you approved from the opposite direction, we have this piece by Hunto and Mr Thoms.

On Holywell Lane there are some interesting pieces on the hoardings including this by JimVision entitled The Umbrella Academy.

From the end of Holywell Lane turn right and then left into Bethnal Green Road. Ebor Street is then the first on the left. Here you will find Ben Eines mural Peace is Possible.

On nearby Whitby Street is another mural by Jim Vision.

At the end of the street there are two superb murals by James Cochran, also known as Jimmy C.

There is much more to see in the area including some fine works on nearby Sclater Street but the Sunday marked prevented me from taking any photographs on this visit.