Graffiti Artists Paul Insect, Sweet Toof and Rowdy get up to no good in East London

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Anyone travelling on the A12 past Bromley By Bow tube station cannot fail to notice the eyesore of a building directly opposite. It’s been a while since this sorry looking place saw any sort of care and attention and will no doubt soon be demolished. That whole area in fact has seen better days, situated as it is in a patch of waste ground just next to a Tesco Service Station. An old office block and a beaten up old former warehouse are all that remains of what must have been a busy workplace back in the day.

No suprise then that some of East Londons most notorious Graffiti Artists have honed in on this place like a spray can to a wall and done what only they can do best. Paul Insect in particular has created some funky little pieces across both buildings whilst the likes of Sweet Toof and Rowdy have added their unique styles onto the roof of the office block. This blog has covered some of the work here before, a fun piece in the courtyard by Sweet Toof and Insect.

Rowdy, Sweet Toof and Paul Insect high up on the derelict office building
Rowdy, Sweet Toof and Paul Insect high up on the derelict office building
Spotted from a broken window, a rather easier to spot collaboration between Sweet Toof and Paul Insect
Spotted from a broken window, a rather easier to spot collaboration between Sweet Toof and Paul Insect

These guys are not your traditional street artists. In fact, I doubt very much that they’d call themselves street artists at all! As for traditional, they’d probably say that they were around well before hipsters became a descriptive term and the words ‘dope’ and ‘sick’ were used only to describe a mild narcotic and an upset stomach.

They yearn for difficult spots to paint and they don’t really care whether anyone sees the work or not. They paint in awkward places, the harder to reach the better and do what others dare not. They wouldn’t be seen dead at a paint jam and just forget live painting for the tourists on Brick Lane! They stay out of sight and they certinaly wouldn’t allow themselves to be caught on camera by the likes of this blog or any of the other instagrammers, tweeters and various other obsessives of social media out there.

Better days? It's a grotty old place and not the sort of place you go alone
Better days? It’s a grotty old place and not the sort of place you go alone
High up on the rooftop, the all seeing eyes by Paul Insect
High up on the rooftop, the all seeing eyes by Paul Insect

Of course it’s great fun speculating. My plan was to go and spot some of this new work for myself, particularly the new Paul Insect characters. With me was the street art and architectural photographer @eastldngeezer who gets everywhere and whose excellent instagram account is always full of the latest art around town. So starting with the Paul Insect pieces we’ll take a little photographic journey around the area so you don’t have to and try and spot some of the graffiti art on display.

The first of Paul Insect's characters 'Red'
The first of Paul Insect’s characters ‘Red’ can be found in the warehouse
Red flexes
Red flexes
'Blue'
‘Blue’ can be found in the warehouse as well but this character has wings and a beaky nose
Blue is Cool
Blue is Cool
Yellow seems to have some form of laser ray going on
Yellow seems to have some form of laser ray going on
Aiming at some form of target
Aiming at some form of target
@eastldngeezer managed to get this shot of Red in a precarious position on the roof
@eastldngeezer managed to get this shot of Red in a precarious position on the roof
Various tributes on the walls
Various tributes on the walls
Tag from Cobra
Tag from Cobra
A bit more elaborate from Cobra
A bit more elaborate from Cobra
Outside Sweet Toof has left some of his trademark teeth
Outside Sweet Toof has left some of his trademark teeth
Some more on the side of the warehouse
Some more on the side of the warehouse
More work from Sweet Toof
More work from Sweet Toof
The office block
The office block
Take a seat
Take a seat
There's some unusual stuff to be seen round these parts
There’s some unusual stuff to be seen round these parts
Some of the rooms are in a poor state
Some of the rooms are in a poor state
Clearly painting is a lot better
Clearly painting is a lot better
A random boot
A random boot
To be honest it's not the nicest of places
To be honest it’s not the nicest of places
From the stairs onto the roof
From the stairs onto the roof
Blood Thirsty
Blood Thirsty
More Teeth
More Teeth
Canary Wharf with a Paul insect eye in the foreground
Canary Wharf with a Paul insect eye in the foreground
Rowdy and Sweet Toof, the place is clearly a grafters paradise
Rowdy and Sweet Toof, the place is clearly a grafters paradise
More Rowdy with the Olympic Park in the background
More Rowdy with the Olympic Park in the background
The eye on the roof
The eye on the roof

Just around the corner from the buildings is the River Lea Navigation and in the section between the the Three Mills and the Bow Roundabout underpass a lot of the same artists have got together once more. Sweet Toof, Rowdy, Paul Insect and Cobra have taken to decorating the canalside, again getting where most artists don’t. Sweet Toof in particular has often used this canal as a canvas and a wander up along the towpath towards Hackney Wick will result in many pieces becoming visible.

Just on the towpath of the River Lea Navigation, more art can be seen
Just on the towpath of the River Lea Navigation, more art can be seen
Rowdy's Crocodile and Sweet Toof's teeth can be seen
Rowdy’s Crocodile and Sweet Toof’s teeth can be seen
Rowdy's Croc snakes along the canal
Rowdy’s Croc snakes along the canal
Paul Insect's eye makes for a good reflection
Paul Insect’s eye makes for a good reflection
Cobra got into the act by adding this tag
Cobra got into the act by adding this tag
Sweet Toof's pink gums cannot be missed easily
Sweet Toof’s pink gums cannot be missed easily
Look carefully on posts along the towpath and you might also come across some of these stickers by Paul Insect
Look carefully on posts along the towpath and you might also come across some of these stickers by Paul Insect


For more Inspiring City posts featuring some of the artists in this post try:

Sweet Toof and Paul Insect collaboration in Bromley By Bow
Sweet Toof in Hackney Wick
Crazy Wall Warehouse on Sclater Street
Warehouse art on Fish Island

Published by inspiringcity

15 Comments

  5. I like the way you snoop around Stuart….. Even in dereliction there is that last gasp of life from the graff artist and snappers down to the readers… A capture that will live on…..

    Keep up the good work on a very enjoyable blog indeed!

    Reply

  7. Nice post, that is one sketchy mofo of a place! It’s a good job you had Patrick with you, I went on my own and stumbled across 2 smackheads on the 3rd floor before making a very hasty exit. Luckily they didn’t even hear me so I was able to tiptoe out without them noticing 🙂

    Reply

    1. haha thanks, i have to say it is a pretty hairy place to go on your own. Even tiptoeing is difficult with all the rubbish and junk on the floor. Thanks for the follow by the way 🙂

      Reply

      1. and thanks for the follow back 🙂 Yeah when i said tiptoed i meant i crunched glass really noisily, those guys must’ve been off their bonces to not have heard me 😉

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