South African street artist Faith 47 has returned to London and once again created a series of spectactular murals.
Her art is dynamic, impactful and manages to blend in with the surroundings effortlessly. In this new series of street work, heavy brush strokes form the the body whilst piercing detail is added to the all important features. Her stalking lions in particular manage to cast a prowling eye over passers by, stalking their prey in the modern day concrete jungle. She has titled her work on the gates of the brewery as ‘The Strong and the Weak’.
London Murals
As an artist Faith47 has painted all over the world, her visit to London last year produced murals at the Truman Brewery just off Brick Lane and on Leonard Street in Shoreditch. The latter, a story high image of what appears to be a nun holding a dying swan, is still there and is a beautifully atmospheric piece of work that manages to entrance immediately. It confirmed her reputation even then as a major talent gracing the walls of the East End.
Now in addition to her stalking Lions, one on Brick Lane and the other on one of the gates to the Truman Brewery, she has added a haunting image of a captured unicorn to the side of an old warehouse building in Hackney Wick. Just across the water from the Old Ford Lock on the Fish Island side she has titled the piece ‘The Solar Logos’. The unicorn is strong, seemingly fighting for it’s freedom as it tries to escape the snares to which it has been tethered. It’s clear that here we have a proud creature, her image is a powerful one, I get the impression that capturing the beast is one thing but breaking it’s spirit will be something else entirely.
So for this post I thought I’d try and capture all the art of this great artist in just the one place, the street art of Faith 47 in London.
Unicorn – Hackney Wick
Lion on Brick Lane
Swan on Leonard Street
For more articles and pictures from Faith 47 check out these articles:
Hooked Blog – New London Mural by Faith 47
Hooked Blog – Faith 47 Brick Lane Murals
Cape Town Magazine – Interview with Faith 47
I love her work. Its so alive. And nice post too. 🙂
And to add. Your directions re: the unicorn are spot on. But with my poor sense of direction and taking a wrong turn, it took a little longer to trace. But I had great fun asking people if they had seen a unicorn. And then to finally see the painting was rewarding too. I’d never have seen it for myself otherwise. So thanks for the info.
Hi Tanya I’m glad you got to see it. To be fair the unicorn isn’t in the easiest place but once you get there it really is pretty cool. Nice area that at the weekend too it’s beginning to get a real vibe about the place 😀