Feet firmly on the ground Ben Eine teamed up with RYCA yesterday to paint these new hoardings in Hackney, East London. With a font comprised entirely of dots with smiley faces it turned into a marathon session with Ben choosing the wording 'The Strangest Week' as a fitting comment on 7 days which saw one of his paintings gifted to President Obama and hung in the White House. Around the corner RYCA opted for the more simple but effective 'Power Up.'. It was rewarding to see how favourably their work was viewed by passers by. Even the Police stopped and had a look - initially with a view to making an arrest but after a quick look at the Times article they were happily on their way again. What a difference a week makes.

Ben Eine

Ben Eine - The Strangest Week

RYCA - Power Up.

A couple of upcoming events well worth taking a look at:

 'Rise of the Non Conformists', Whitecross Street. As well as a two day street party two dozen artists will be turning the street into a giant canvas, including Burning Candy Crew, Carrie Reichardt, Dotmasters, David Bray, Dr.d, Filthy Luker, Gavin Turk, Giles Walker, Best Ever, Dead Leg, Mysterious Al, Matt Small, Mr. E. Dawe, Paul Insect, Peter Dunne, Shepherd Fairy (OBEY), Peter Dunne, Terry Baden, Will Baras, Wreckage, Xenz and Eeelus.
More details on wxstreetparty.com

'Boy Soldiers' - a group show by Schoony. 30 different artists have customised one of Schoony's boy soldier figures. Includes Goldie, Dan Baldwin, Mau Mau, Joe Rush, Dotmasters, Carrie Reichardt, Insa, John Nolan, Fin DAC, PEN1, Grafter, Liliwenn, D*Face, Matt Small, Inkie, David Bray, BEST EVER, Nick Reynolds, Hiruka Irie, Part2ism, Slice, K-Guy. Show will run separtely at the Blackall Studios in the East and the Graffik Gallery in the West.

Boy Soldier at Mutate Britain 2009

Yes you read that headline right. In a strange turn of events that probably has left Ben Eine thinking he may have entered a parallel universe a painting of his has apparently ended up in the mits of US President Barack Obama via David Cameron and his wife Samantha. 'Twentyfirstcenturycity' by Ben was given as part of a gift exchange between the two men after Ben was asked and he "had a bit of think about it and thought: yeah, I suppose so". According to the Times he added "I would definitely not have done it for Bush".

It's not such a stretch as it first seems - Samantha Cameron works in the luxury goods sector and Ben recently allowed his font to be used by a top end handbag designer. 

I was trying to work out what I thought about the whole thing this morning - should he do it, what does it do for his credibility and then I remembered that I'm just writing a blog and it really doesn't matter a jot what I think. If its good for Ben then I guess I'm happy. But I would have been more than happy with the two fingered approach too.

Ludo has made a welcome return to London in recent weeks with works from his Natures Revenge series appearing all over the East End of London. I managed to track down a few last Friday but if you want to see them in person be quick - just like real flowers these paste ups tend not to look their best for very long.

While I love Shok-1's recent monochrome fixation the colour in this latest piece really makes the image 'pop' off the wall. Shok claims that he's only working his way back to full colour at present so expect more hues to creep in on the next few pieces. 

Loving this punker on the side of Shok-1's latest vehicle makeover. The vehicle itself is an old bus converted into a mobile tattooing parlour and if you get a chance to see it in person check out the amazing level of detail.

Been a while since the last post. Partly because I've been taking a bit of time out and partly because there's been nothing going on. Well, except for Eine painting an entire new alphabet in just one street! Lower case all the way, it turns a road off the city into an amazing cartoon like world when the shops finally shut for the night.

Eine - Lower Case Alphabet

Candy Shop - A Burning Candy pop up show, 8th May to 22nd May 2010 at 10 Palmers Road, London E2 OSY. Thu - Sat, 1-7pm. Check highrollersociety.co.uk for details.

Don't know Burning Candy? They are responsible for work like this all over London:

The show blurb puts it well:

Ignoring the limitations and expectations of the graffiti art scene, London based Burning Candy have made a name for themselves as being amongst the most prolific and creative street artists in the UK. As individuals they are some of the biggest names both on the street and in the galleries that exhibit their work. However it is their collaborative work producing epic genre-defying murals that has cemented them as an unstoppable powerhouse.  To coincide with DOTS, a Burning-Candy-film-in-the-making, High Roller Society proudly presents CANDY SHOP, an exhibition of selected works by each of the crew's 9 core members: CEPT, CYCLOPS, DSCREET, GOLD PEG, LL BRAINWASHED, MIGHTY MO, ROWDY, SWEET TOOF, and TEK 33.  The exhibition, which runs from 8 May - 22 May, showcases the chaotic harmony of Burning Candy's street-inspired individual works in a kaleidoscope of crazy colours, mediums, and styles.
Over the past four years, the prolific Burning Candy crew came together naturally through shared ideals of what they each wanted to achieve as artists, both in the studio and on the street.  They all believe in big colourful graffiti that challenges passers-by in a positive way, and that doesn't take itself too seriously. Think one-eyed King Kong-sized monkeys with gnashing gums and clothes pegs for teeth, clenching a half-crocodile, half-owl in one hand, and a slimy pink super-brain being speared by a pitch-fork in the other, looming over trendy Londonistas as they skip to their day jobs and prowl the pubs. With a passion and obsession for graffiti at their core, Burning Candy's ingeniously collaborative street creatures have both fueled and furthered their individual studio work, where the usage of endless mediums has caused an oddly desirable thirst for more in their extensive following.
As a very loose synopsis, Dots will prompt the crew members to exceed even their own expectations and produce a work that is bigger and more inspired than anything they have done before. To achieve this, the film will follow each of the artists as they visit the spiritual home of their artistic style, taking both Burning Candy and the viewer on a journey around-the-world as they learn more about where their art has originated, explore it’s importance in their lives and discover how they can take their ideas further.
To help raise funds and make Dots a reality, Burning Candy has put together a limited edition set of 9 screenprints, one print from each member of the crew. The prints, which are 2-colors, A5 sized, and an edition of just 150, are each beautifully presented in a bespoke hand-screenprinted box. But, these prints aren’t only artwork; anyone who buys a box set will also own the rights to 0.05% of the film's revenues for the next 10 years. High Roller Society will have a limited amount of Burning Candy Box Sets available to purchase.  A percentage of the proceeds from both the box sets and the crew's art works will go toward the film, as well as to a member of Burning Candy who has recently fell upon difficult times.  CANDY SHOP opens on 8 May to anyone and everyone willing to sink their teeth into Burning Candy's deliciously twisted treats.

The Elephant Parade in London recently started with a scale and scope in an outside art project that has rarely been seen before. Over 250 elephants were custom painted by artists and some celebrities and placed in central London. It's not difficult to track one down - they're often in small herds and kind of stand out. The one I really wanted to find was this one by Carrie Reichardt and Nick Reynolds which was found in the gardens of the Natural History Museum. It features a mind numbing amount of attention to detail which adds extra depth to the explanation of the plight of the Asian elephant by showing how it is persecuted for its ivory, blown up by landmines and more. And if you look carefully round the back you can see a little play on the Turner prize.

More about the project can be found on elephantfamily.org. You can see a BBC video on the installation of Phoolan here and the video of its creation here.

Above: This appears on the elephants behind...

...and this appears underneath the elephant

It's election day tomorrow where we get the chance to put an X in a box to choose between the Conservative/Labour duopoly that's been in control for all our lives (with apologies to any readers who were over 18 years old about 60 years ago). As usual we get to vote for the one we dislike least or against the one we dislike most. What sort of choice is that? Of course there are other parties but a vote for the Lib Dems won't see them in power short of a hung parliament. A vote for Clegg and Co does, however, carry the idea that we might just get a shot at some badly needed electoral reform. All very depressing but just when all seemed lost a fourth way has appeared with the clock at two minutes to midnight. New slogans from a previously little heard of political party have appeared. Common sense and salvation are here at last.

On May 6th Vote Toaster. You know it makes sense.

campaign shots: The Toasters