THE BIGGEST TOUR BY FAR

At a pretty decent pace, it took us three hours. It could be far longer if you include all the local streets and all the local graffiti. It is everywhere. And it’s always changing, so even though a lot of the featured graffiti is gone now, you’re bound to always fid something new, or have never noticed before.

Literally stumbling across ‘the maid‘ (see S20) early one Sunday morning in May 2006 (I suspect Banksy did it in the first hours of that same morning) was the kind of pleasure you can only really get by wandering around, keeping your eyes open, and following your destiny. You ‘ll be amazed at how many weird situations have led me to come across this stuff!

This tour goes around the capital of UK street graffiti – Hoxton, Old Street, Shoreditch, and Brick Lane – the creative, yet run-down, nouveau trendy East End. The streets (and railway bridges and alleys) are literally awash with graffiti of all styles, plus paste-ups, stickers, installations, art projects and all sorts of weird and wonderfully creative ramblings (picture frames on the street, nailed up art, tattooists, photographers and fashion victims, etc.)

This tour is the longest of the three, but you could easily split it up, or just wander around a bit instead. You won’t need a tube or bus ticket.

It’s all relatively flat, and doesn’t involve any unavoidable steps for someone using a wheelchair or pushing a baby carriage.

Poison Rat

Post Code: EC 1Y 1AU
Map/GPS reference: TQ 32796 82288

Location

Oliver’s Yard, just off City Rd (A501). As seen in the Banksy books. It is now fading, but it is the only Poison Rat left in the area, complete with green waste spewing across the pavement, and the word ‘Wanksy’ added to it!.

Status

Hardly visible any more.

Next

Return to Old St station and use the subways to come out at Exit 8.

CHECK OUT TH E WALL

Post Code: EC 1V 2NR
Map/GPS reference: TQ 32706 82522

Location

By Exit 8 of Old Street tube station. It may be white, it may be black, it may have art on it, it might not. It’s an ever-changing open air gallery. The ‘writer’ Arofish was the first to paint this wall white (using the old trick of posing as a workman) and then came back later to add some art to it. Since then, it’s had a succession of art and paint-overs, including one cheeky reference by El Chivo to the re-painting. I wonder what it will look like when you visit?

Next

Walk Up City Rd (A501).

‘Soma’ by El Chivo, June 2006
followed by ‘paint it black…paint it white…’
by El Chivo, Oct 2006 (Both painted over)

MICROPH ONE RAT

Post Code: EC 1V 9EH
Map/GPS reference: TQ 32551 82701

Location

Moorfields Eye Hospital, City Road, by Cayton Street. This is on an old disused entrance to Moorfields, and is a great example of a large microphone rat, although I like to think of it as a rat belting out ‘My Way’ on a karaoke machine, or maybe toasting at a sweaty sound system clash in Kingston. For half of 2006, it was covered up during renovations, but it managed to survive. Workers told me it wasn’t due to be buffed, so I hope it will stay.

Status

In October 2006, the rat was visible again.

Next

Cross City Rd (A501) to Westland Place.