Sweet Toof and Paul Insect Graffiti Art on the Rooftops of Hackney Wick

Any visitor to Hackney Wick in London cannot fail to notice the high rise graffiti towering over the area. Looking out over the buildings from the station platform of the local overground, it invites adventure.

Although much was sanitised in the run up to the 2012 Olympics, some survived and it tended to be the higher up harder to reach works. Since then the Wick has begun to change with new people coming in and some of the old guard moving out although in places it still has the feel of the bohemian paradise of a few years back.

The Wick in all it's glory can be seen from the vantage point of the Hackney Wick overground station
The Wick in all it’s glory can be seen from the vantage point of the Hackney Wick overground station
Buildings with some high level graffiti now full of artist studios and our destination
Buildings with some high level graffiti now full of artist studios and our destination

All the better then to try and get onto those rooftops to take in the views of the area and also to see some old school graffiti by some of the local areas greatest street artists. Sweet Toof in particular has been very active of late and his work suffered more than most during the whitewash period leading up to the Olympic sanitisation.

With me was another talented street artist, Kef, who only lives down the road in Homerton and wanted to have a look around the area. Given it’s reputation as a creative hub the plan was to explore a little, wander into a few galleries and get a feel for the place. Back in the day Kef spent a good part of his youth tagging in the streets of Germany, evolving now into his signature style of colourful swirling patterns so the graffiti tradition of the Wick was an appealing one.

Kef on the rooftop, taking in the scenery
Kef on the rooftop, taking in the scenery

So, at the top of a building at the end of a little graffiti covered alleyway just off White Post Lane we wandered up to the roof of the Wick. A plan which admittedly had a high degree of potential failure as our entrance to the building depended entirely on someone letting us in. Luckily someone did and at the top of the building an open doorway led onto the roof with a superb view of the city and the nearby Olympic Stadium. It’s not often that the art here is seen outside of the people who live and work in this building and London itself is rarely seen from this particular angle. So with that in mind have a look at the gallery below, hope you enjoy the pics.

The rooftop entrance at the top of the building
The rooftop entrance at the top of the building
Colourful art on the roof
Colourful art on the roof
One of Paul Insect's recognisable eyes covering the wall and floor
One of Paul Insect’s recognisable eyes covering the wall and floor
Paul Insect art with the city in the background
Paul Insect art with the city in the background
Another one of Paul Insects trademark characters
Another one of Paul Insects trademark characters
View from the roof looking over the buildings of Hackney Wick
View from the roof looking over the buildings of Hackney Wick
Looking out across towards the station complete with stickers
Looking out across towards the station complete with stickers
The rooftop is covered in art
The rooftop is covered in art
The colourful rooftop doorway with the city in the background
The colourful rooftop doorway with the city in the background
Tagging from FANG
Tagging from FANG
Looking back from one of the other roofs
Looking back from one of the other roofs
Across the rooftop towards the stadium
Across the rooftop towards the stadium
Steps from one roof to the other
Steps from one roof to the other complete with works from Sweet Toof and Paul Insect
RUN has also got some work on display, here alongside Sweet Toof
RUN has also got some work on display, here alongside Sweet Toof
A random little shed with a view overlooking the Olympic Park
A random little shed with a view overlooking the Olympic Park
White teeth on other rooftops
White teeth on other rooftops
Sweet Toof has certinaly got around
Sweet Toof has certinaly got around

Finally for those wanting to see how it all happened and what it looked like a few years ago, watch this amazing timelapse video from NoLionsInEngland

Sweet Toof and Paul Insect, London Rooftop, 2011 from NoLionsInEngland on Vimeo.

And here is the original Graffoto article which covered the original paint job in 2011.

For more Inspiring City posts featuring topics covered in this article try:

Graffiti Artists Sweet Toof and Paul Insect get up to no good in the East End
Sweet Toof and Paul Insect collaboration in Bromley By Bow
Interview with Up and Coming German street artist Kef
Hackney Wicked 2013 opens up art to everyone
A Street Art Tour of Fish Island and Hackney Wick

9 Comments

  1. Hi Stuart, nice post! great place to explore that one.

    You might be interested in showing your readers this video made when Insect and Sweet Toof created some of that rooftop art a few years ago

    Cheers

    Dave

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