Unit 5 a new gallery space from Alternative London opens in the East End

East London’s latest gallery space has opened just off the Hackney Road between Bethnal Green and Shoreditch.

Run by the team behind Alternative London, best known for their street art tours and graffiti workshops, the gallery offers an exhibition space in a spot close to the Hackney City Farm and in an area rich with urban art and murals.

In fact Alternative London have been responsible to organising some of London’s best known and most dramatic murals.  Most recently their curation of Axel Void’s ‘Comfort of the Modern Slave‘ just a few metres down the road has caught the imagination around the area.

unit 5
Someone takes a picture of a recently curated mural by Axel Void in Walthamstow

Void, a well travelled artist from the states, was the central focus for the opening night at Unit 5.  A limited edition series of prints made from an etching were on sale but the walls were covered in photographs of some of the murals Alternative London had arranged with artists from around the town.

Some of those murals from the likes of Cranio, Alex Senna, Fintan Magee, Phlegm, Lily Mixe and Pez are still visible particularly around the favoured Alternative London stomping ground of Shoreditch.   No doubt many of them will be able to be seen on one of their many tours.

It remains to be seen how they get on, there’s no doubt that the team behind Alternative London can draw some of the biggest names to the city should they want to.  Fingers crossed that happens and the gallery becomes another staple on the exciting urban art scene in the city.

The Unit 5 gallery can be found in ‘The Yard, Yorkton Street, London, E2 ENH’ it can be found just off the Hackney Road.  The opening night was held on Thursday 22 September 2016.

unit 5 phlegm
Work from Phlegm which was curated on the side of the Red Gallery in Shoreditch
unit 5 lily mixe
Visitors looks at a couple of pieces from Lily Mixe
unit 5 axel void
Mural from Fintan Magee
unit 5 axel void
Visitors hanging around next to pictures of murals
unit 5 axel void
‘Comfort of the Modern Slave’ by Axel Void
unit 5
Pondering some of the art which has been created
unit 5
Chatting over a few beers
unit 5 axel void
Roes work with appeared on Scalter Street
unit 5
Work from Brazilian artist Alex Senna
2016-09-22-21-44-35-1
The centrepiece of the show was the release of the print etching ‘Meat’ from Axel Void
20160922_203136
Looking at work from Lily Mixe
20160922_203956-1
‘Meat’ the etching print from Axel Void

2 Comments

Leave a Reply