The concrete pedestrianised area of Chrisp Street and it’s market are not generally found at the top of any must see street art visitors list but, look closer, and there are some gems to discover.
Top of that list has got to be the giant Chihuahua from Boe and Irony on the side of a large block of flats and which overlooks the All Saints DLR railway station. We covered that piece previously on Inspiring City here and the piece has become a landmark for the area, it’s impossible not to notice.
Wander into the concrete passages of the 1960’s market though and there is plenty more works to discover with some pretty impressive utilisation of the areas ample number of shutters.
Special notice here must be given to American artist Above, known for his multi-coloured arrows, he has visited the UK a few times now and often leaves his work dotted around. The shutters of Chrisp Street however are, by far, the greatest proliferation of his work to be found anywhere in London. Walk around the area just before or just after the local businesses shut up shop for the day, you can’t fail to spot his work.
Other notable contributors to the art of the area are the likes of Malarky with his colourful cartoon style creatures and typographical artists Lilly Lou and Gary Stranger whose equally colourful lettering covers the ladies and gents public loos.
So, it’s not the most obvious place to spot street art, but it is a good one and worth the journey if only for a quick wander round and, to be fair, if the only reason you pop over is to see the giant chihuahua from Boe and Irony then that might well be enough to warrant the trip.
Chrisp Street Market Street Art Gallery
S
Hi Stuart
Is the Banksy still there, to the right of the chihuahua?
All the best, Paul
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Hi Paul I thought it had gone a while ago so didn’t actually search it out. Good point though I’ll need to pop down again to be doubly sure of that