Hang-Up Urban

What Were They Thinking? Banksy Street Art Destroyed

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:06:00 GMT

A Banksy street work has been destroyed (pictured) by careless drilling for a cafe in Australia's art capital, Melbourne.

As you can see from the picture above, it seems almost unbelievable that the drillers didn't choose to drill just a little to the left or little to the right to avoid drilling through the middle of this artwork.

One can only guess that they were unaware it was street art by the world's most successful and celebrate street artist Banksy.

And, given that they would have had to gain a permit from the council for this demolition, it is surprising the council didn't inform them about the street art - perhaps they were unaware it was a Banksy, too.

According to Melbourne's daily newspaper Herald Sun, this is the third Banksy to be destroyed in Melbourne in the past two years. Vandals damaged one in Fitzroy last August while (allegedly unaware) council workers painted over a Banksy in Hoiser Lane in April 2010.

Considering that Melbourne regards itself and is regarded worldwide as one of the world's great street art capitals, it certainly seems a surprise that more effort isn't put in to preserving (and not continually destroying) such work.

New Banksy appears In London

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:54:00 GMT

A new Banksy piece has appeared on the side of Poundland, Whymark Avenue, in North London. The stencil depicts a child hard at work sewing some Union Jack bunting and another statement on child labour.

Update:
More details are surfacing, located next to "Poundland", this store has been at the centre of controversy after it was revealed two years ago that a seven-year-old boy worked more 100 hours a week in an Indian sweatshop to produce some of its goods.

Via High Snobiety

Photography: the lonely villein

JR and Parla Bring Wrinkles to the City of Havana

Wed, 09 May 2012 12:08:00 GMT

JR and Jose Parla have hit the streets of Havana together, putting up these heart-warming street works as part of JR's Wrinkles of the City project.

Parla's intangible and almost ethereal looking calligraphic works gives a nice touch to the Ted Prize winner and French street photographer's candid shots of the older members of the public (certainly not a subject you see often in street art).

This new street art coincides with the 11th Havana Biennial 2012.

Here's a video on JR's Wrinkles of the City in LA for more on the ambitious project.

Images, via

See Static Live Printing Tonight In London

Tue, 08 May 2012 12:57:00 GMT

Dynamic duo Static will be live printing a limited edition colourway of 25 at Whisper Gallery TONIGHT, Tuesday May 8 between 5-8pm.

The prints will be available for £35 on the night. The live printing at Whisper coincides with their current solo exhibition 'Moments of Clarity', which you can read all about in our interview with the two artists, here.

The exhibition is on until May 26 at Whisper, which is located at 27/28 Eastcastle Street London W1W 8DH.

Banksy's Kissing Coppers Voted Artwork That Best Expresses British Identity

Fri, 04 May 2012 11:36:00 GMT

Banksy's bold street artwork of two kissing policemen, painted on the walls of a Brighton pub, has been voted the single best work of art that best expresses British identity as voted in a poll by 1,000 artists, according to the Independent.

Antony Gormley's 1998 sculpture Angel of the North, Lucian Freud's 1995 Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, Jamie Reid's God Save the Queen, Tracey Emin's My Bed and Damien Hirst's The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living all rated highly.

The poll was commissioned by The Other Art Fair, which kicks off on Thursday May 10 and runs for four days.

Interview with Anthony Lister in LA

Thu, 03 May 2012 16:28:00 GMT

Documenting Australian-born artist Anthony Lister on his multiple visits to LA over the space of nine months, this short documentary by Arrested Motion filmmaker Carlos Gonzalez offers a great insight into the mind and workings of this forward-pushing street artist.
Check it out.

See Ben Allen Take Over An Entire Room

Tue, 01 May 2012 16:22:00 GMT

Brighton-based urban / pop art artist Ben Allen - who we interviewed here - took to the walls of a brand new room at Artist Residence Hotel and Gallery in Brighton. See the video below and you'll agree, he's done a mind-blowingly fantastic job.

If I actually owned property, I'd get him to do my place too.

If you love Ben's work, make sure you check out this incredible limited edition print he did for the UK release of hit Ryan Gosling film Drive, as well as this very special limited edition print he did *exclusively* for us!

Meet The Artist: Static

Tue, 01 May 2012 09:27:00 GMT

East London art duo Static have been crafting their unique blend of striking and often satirical artwork since 2006. Together, they combining elements of street art and fine art and merge clean graphic style with stencil, spray paint, screen printing and paint brushes with mind-blowing results. With new solo exhibition 'Moments of Clarity' currently on at London's Whisper Gallery, we spoke with the artists Tom and Craig about their successful partnership and eye-catching new work.

How and when did you two meet?

Tom and I met through mutual friends at sixth form college, but it wasn't until we started a foundation art course two years later that we started to spend more time together and bounce ideas off of one another.   

Why did you decide to work together, instead of separately?

The foundation art course gave us the opportunity to explore art, design, fashion and photography as well as other areas that we'd never really focused on before and we'd be given group projects as well as solo ones to work on, which really opened our eyes to collaborations and thinking about sharing ideas and suggestions beyond our own personal portfolios. It was something we continued when we went to university and when the opportunity came about for us to start working together, we set up our first studio space in some derelict flats and went from there.

How does your creative partnership work?

When we're starting a new project or developing ideas, we'll usually come up with a few initial ideas on our own and then see how we can merge them together.
We've both got our own individual skill set that means that (if we know what we want the end result to be) things usually go to plan and we're always consulting each other on everything from composition to colour and anything else in between.
It really depends though, because sometimes if it's something we want to do quickly, it might be added to as we go along and neither of us will really have an idea of how the final piece will look... but that's kind of what spurs you on in a way too.

How would you describe your work? 

Our work is often referred to as a combination of fine art, with strong graphic elements, and urban art. We've always been interested in the juxtaposition of ideas and techniques in creating pieces that will make people look again or see things in a new way and that's what's been the focus and driving force behind the new work we've created for 'Moments of Clarity'. 

Who or what inspires your work?

The short answer is anything and everything... We've got friends who work in various different areas and they're all really talented and inspiring to spend time with. We never set out and said we'd stick to one way of working, there's a continuous interest in exploring new ideas and we're always looking to push ourselves forward from the last idea we've had.  

Who are some artists you admire and why?

The list is too long! We've got a lot of respect and admiration for anyone who is creative and finds an outlet and platform to get their work out there. We love it when boundaries are blurred and people combine elements of opposites in new ways and aren't afraid to go outside the lines, but at the same time there's a lot of artists and creatives out there that get it so spot on every time and you just can't ignore their passion and dedication.

You have work in galleries all over the world – in the UK, Dubai, Singapore, Japan and Australia. Assuming you’ve travelled to these places and more, what’s your favourite city or country you’ve visited and why?

We went out to Japan in 2010 and really enjoyed immersing ourselves in the culture and traditions we were exposed to. Tokyo is an amazing city and we spent some time travelling around the country before we returned back to the UK – photos of which you can see on our website in the Japan Tour section.  It was amazing to be invited out there and we're looking forward to returning later in the year for more sushi, sashimi and sake!

What was your first art job out of school?

Craig: After university I spent the summer working with a friend who had set up his own web design company and I collaborated with him on a number of projects whilst creating my online portfolio of the work I'd done whilst at Liverpool John Moores. The first paid job I had though came nearly a year after working at a pub in central London, when I was finally offered some freelance work at a small graphic design agency in London Bridge. It could have lasted longer than the four or so weeks I was there, but I wasn't clued up on blagging back then and they took someone else on full time and I headed North to be reunited with Tom.

Tom: I worked in Sunderland for about a year, helping out a friend who was teaching portfolio and mould making at the University of Sunderland in the Ceramics and Glass department. I really enjoyed it but at the time was living back home so the two hour commute was not the best.

Will your solo show 'Moments of Clarity' feature all new work? How long have you been working on it / preparing for the show?

The work we're showing in 'Moments of Clarity' has been roughly 12 months in the making and apart from a couple of pieces that sold last year and one that has been displayed by Whisper as a taster of what's coming, this is the first time any of these pieces have been shown in the UK.
In fact, this show will be the first time that we'll get to see them all in one place, rather than just in threes and fours in the hall outside the studio.

(video of the guys in the studio preparing for the show)

What can we expect to see in terms of direction and subject matter in your new work for the exhibition?

Apart from the limited edition print that will be available from the preview night, everything is on layers of glass and Perspex which we have put together in bespoke frames. These allow us to float the separate layers of the patterns and portraits we have been creating for this collection, which mean the pieces are always changing depending on the position or viewpoint of each individual person.  Within the 'Moments of Clarity' collection, we've explored two different themes. The pattern pieces are very structured and precise which is contrary to what most people expect when they hear the term 'spray painted' and then we have created a series of portraits in which we have combined and sampled elements of the pattern pieces, to inject colour and vibrancy between the layers and spaces created in and around the compositions.

What’s one reason you make art?

The thing we like about making art is that the pieces we make go on to become part of other people's lives all around the world and they'll spark conversations and attract the attentions of individuals we'll never meet, but they'll have seen our work and it will have made a difference to their day. Whether for better or worse, we can't say, but hopefully it's more interesting than looking at an empty space...

Static's exhibition 'Moments of Clarity' is now on at Whisper Gallery and is well worth the visit. The exhibition runs until May 26, visit here for more details.

To view available limited edition prints by Static, step this way.

Faile Chat About Their Epic New Installation in Brooklyn

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:19:00 GMT

Brooklyn-based Faile, aka street art duo Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller, chat with Vice about their new tile installation which covers the entire building at 104 N. 7th Street in Brooklyn and is conveniently titled The 104 North 7th Project in New York.

The work, which is a collaboration with Vice and 42Below, consists of thousands of handmade tiles designed by the artists, each individually pressed and painted, and then fired in a wood-burning kiln and shipping to the installation site. See the interview below for more...

In bed with the French street artist Invader

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:34:00 GMT

Shot back in the winter of 2011 this 13 minutes long video follows the Parisian artist Invader working on the streets of Paris at night.

More Invader here

JR New Mural In New York City

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:16:00 GMT

JR is back in New York City, just a month after his last collaboration with Liu Bolin on Spring St and Elizabeth in Manhattan.

He was seen working yesterday with his crew worked on a new large scale mural on the corner of Prince and Mulberry which was just completed.

On The Streets 5.04.12

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:12:00 GMT

From Milan to East London, to the G40 Summit in Richmond, Virginia and Paris, we're bringing you the creme de la creme of new urban art on the streets.

Let's kick it off with David Shillinglaw brightly coloured and geometric mural in Paris, via

Phlegm above spotted in East London, via

French street artist JR and US collective Cyrcle collaborate in Paris, via

Elbow Toe , via

Aryz at the G40 Summit, via

Italian artist Pixel Pancho also at the G40 Summit

Anthony Lister in Milan, via

Swoon, via

Stickman, via

Nychos, via

And lastly... Jaz, also at the G40 Summit, via

For more of the best new street art, see last week's On The Streets

Meet The Artist: Russell Marshall

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:37:00 GMT

We sat down with the very talented London-based and self-taught artist Russell Marshall to talk about his work, his exclusive new print Twenty Seven, and how a career as an award winning newspaper designer and journalist has influenced is work.

Hi Russell, how’s your day been?

Pretty good thanks, just sitting here with a coffee wondering what happened to the weekend.

As a child, did you have an epiphany that art was what you wanted to do?

I knew I wanted to work in a creative industry. I wanted to be a graphic artist... But that opportunity went out the window when I failed to get in to art school.

Although you didn't get into art school, you have enjoyed a 25 years + career in the newspaper industry as an award winning designer and journalist. Can you tell us a little about your time here? How did you get into media, what were some of the exciting things you got up to or got to cover?

After a couple of terms at sixth form college it was pretty obvious it wasn’t for me. So I left to get a job. I just went through the sits vac pages in the local paper, and applied for three. Trainee silversmith, office junior with a building society and office junior in the advertising department of the local paper. The paper was the only job I was offered.

But it worked out pretty well. I knew the first day I walked in the place that it was the right industry for me. I reckon there’s ink in my veins. My dad was a compositor and other members of my family were in the trade.

From day one I wanted to layout pages – I would hound the editor begging for job as a trainee in his newsroom. In the end the sports editor said he’d teach me how to mark-up copy for typesetting and to layout pages. So I used to stay late on press night and help him. In the end, I was doing half of them myself. And the editor never offered me a job. Another editor from a different paper saw me correcting a page proof and asked me why an advertising office junior was signing-off sports pages. I told him, he was impressed and offered me that job I was so desperate for. Four years later I was Deputy Editor – and freelancing as a news sub-editor on the nationals.

But I got bored re-writing copy. So I quit and took a job as a design assistant on a different national newspaper. Much more fun.... And five years later they made me Art Director.

You never forget the big stories. They are what working on a national paper is all about. My first was Diana’s death. On a day like that you pretty much just go in – whether you are due in or not. 9/11 was another and the 7/7 London bombings too. Everyone just snaps into auto mode. And to a large degree design goes out the window. You no longer have to sell a story through display, you are simply transferring information through pictures and words.

How has a background in journalism and media informed your work?

Massively so. Everything I’ve learned about design, use of colour, layout, use of pictures and the printing process has been on the job working for the papers. And I think this shows a great deal in my work. Photo Opportunity was a massive nod towards my newspaper experience.

Is art something you’ve always done on the side of a full time job, or is it a passion you’ve recently returned to or recently ignited?

I’m pretty new to the art world – commercially speaking. I’ve collected for years and been a regular customer at the Affordable Art Fair and the London Art fairs. I started to produce my own work when I arrogantly told my girlfriend I could do better after trudging round one particular London fair. She simply said: “Well go on then, don’t talk about it do it.”

So I did. I came up with a design and took it to Jealous Gallery and Print Studio in Crouch End. The idea was to have and edition of 25 screen printed. I’d sign and number them and give them away to friends and family for Christmas and birthdays.

Matthew, master-printer at Jealous, reckoned the print might be of interest to Jealous’s owner Dario. He stuck it on the wall. Sold two the first weekend, three the next weekend and 24 at the first London show he took it to. And that was my way in.

How would you describe your work?

Er, developing!? I’m hoping there’s more work ahead of me than behind me. And I’m keen to try different styles.

I guess it’s pop art! But it’s really difficult to label your own work without sounding like a pretentious idiot.. My intention with Photo Opportunity was to create a cool iconic print that would appeal to people from different generations. I don’t have a meaning or an agenda or message. I simply want to produce work that people think looks good. It really is quite a fantastic feeling to know that somebody has chosen to spend their hard-earned money on your work. Then go to the effort and added expense of framing that piece. And then hang up on a wall in their home because they like it.

Why are you particularly interested in exploring celebrities and the public’s obsession with celebrities in your work?

It’s not just celebrity. The people I’ve featured in my work are legends, icons, cool, beautiful or incredible talented. The word celebrity now covers just about anyone who's been on television or in the papers, but I wouldn’t necessarily use a wag or a soap star or the winner of a reality TV show in one of my prints.

There’s also something magic about the old black and white photos of vintage stars. Everyone with a mobile phone is a photographer now and that’s caused quality of printed news images to plummet. Pictures of celebs nowadays are either snatched or airbrushed beyond any reality.

I’m lucky enough to have access to the incredible photo library of one of Britain’s oldest and successful newspapers. I’ve seen amazing candid images that you just would not see these days. A young Michael Caine with his mum pouring him a cup of tea. The Beatles having pillow fights and reading fan letters in hotel rooms, Oliver Reed doing one armed push ups on a pub bar. These images are fantastic and deserve to be enjoyed again.

You’ve previously sited pop art, punk art, urban art, comic book art, street art and manga as influences. Can you tell us some of the specific artists that have inspired you?

Anybody that has entered this industry in the last 10 years has to give a nod towards Banksy. I’ve always loved Warhol, Lichtenstein and Sir Peter Blake. I own works by Shepard Fairey, Dave Kinsey, Paul Insect and Jamie Hewlett and love the the multi-layered works by Ben Allen, Dan Baldwin and Greg Gossel. Adam Bridgeland’s work is beautifully enchanting and quintessentially English. I have to mention Jamie Reid and Eddie King too. I spent some time at the Charming Baker show last year. His work made me feel like I was a kid again - looking at life with the eyes and unlimited imagination of a child. But I’m pretty much influenced by everything I see and everyone I meet. A lot of the work I have planned is completely different to that I’ve already produced.

Can you tell us about the processes you go through to create your limited edition prints?

Me, a Mac, PhotoShop and a very talented master printer! Oh, and hours of picture research. A lot of work goes into each image. I want them to look vintage and reminiscent of old newspapers. Removing backgrounds, adding highlights and lowlights and trying to get all the images a similar weight and tone. There's a great deal of effort that goes into tweaking images in an attempt to make them look old school and unpolished.

Then I tend to proof my work and decide I don’t like this picture or that picture, so choose different images and start again. With Mouse Arrest I produced a full photo-realistic PhotoShop job of the two coppers nicking a certain mouse. Then deconstructed the image to give it a graphic/retro feel.

I’ve also produced work on stainless steel and aim to do more with this media. I’ve used an old fashioned printing plate-making process to acid-etch a photographic image into stainless steel. It looks really cool. Highlights and lowlights are created by light reflecting differently from the etched and polished surfaces.

You’re releasing a very limited edition exclusive print (image below) through us, which we are very, very excited about. What can you tell us about it?

It’s called Twenty Seven and features eight music legends who tragically died aged just 27. There’s been a lot written about the 27 Club – some people include actors but I’ve stuck to musicians. Google the 27 Club and you’ll be amazed at the number of stars who died at that age. It’s a two colour print – black and gold – on black 410gsm somerset velvet paper, edition of just 10. It’s the first time I’ve released a print on black paper.

Why did you decided to feature the members of ‘Club 27’?

I like themes to my work. Photo Op was nine celeb police mugshots, Cowboys was nine western legends and with Twenty Seven the theme is quite clear.

There’s quite a few Club 27 ‘members’ – Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobin, Amy Winehouse, and many more. Similarly, in relation to your previous Cowboy limited edition print, there’s (probably) quite a few actors who have played cowboys too. Within the themes of say ‘Club 27’ or ‘actors who have played cowboys’, how do you choose which celebrities to include in your work?

First up I choose who I think are the most iconic, and then factor in who I think other people will feel are the most iconic. With Photo Op I wanted celebs from different eras and styles. I also chose some images that were not immediately recognisable – Give people a sort of a guessing game! With Cowboys I had to choose pics that immediately said 'Cowboy'. A head and shoulders picture of an actor might not do this if you can’t see a bit of hat or bandana.

I’ve had the idea of Twenty Seven buzzing round my head for quite a while. The problem was that while all members are famous not all are legendary. My photo research gave me seven and then Amy Winehouse sadly died last year and the connection was made with the 27 club so I thought I’d feature just eight – and leave the last frame blank. Amy’s inclusion in the print makes the piece contemporary and relevant. It links the original 27 club member, Robert Johnson who died 1938, to a modern day artist and brings the whole legend up to date.

In your Mugshot series you used Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key, which are the colours used in the digital mass media printing process. And, in your Photo Opportunity series you used colours with celebrity or criminal references - Oscar Gold, Green Room, Prison Jumpsuit Orange and Red Top. Why is colour such a significant element in your work?

The original colourways for Photo Opportunity were chosen to reflect the method used in colour newspaper printing. Cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black) dots are printed in different sizes and patterns and give the illusion of full colour. I simply chose to use these colours as sold colours – although I chose metallic silver to represent key as I thought grey and black might be a bit flat. It was an open nod to my print years.

For the second series I still wanted there to be a reason for the colours. So we had a little think and came up celeb/criminal themed colourways. I said I liked themes!

On the same note, the background on your new Club 27 print is gold. What’s the story here?

Ah, you got me. This was simply aesthetic! I wanted to use heavyweight black cotton paper to distinguish our exclusive print from my other work and as a subtle reference to Hang Up’s logo colours. And the Lascoux Studio metallic inks look brilliant out of black.

Lastly, what have you got coming up? Any exhibitions/projects planned for the rest of 2012?

I'm working on increasing my portfolio first – and hopefully gain a bit more confidence – but obviously a show is what I’m aiming for. No firm details yet but you guys will be among the first to know.

Thanks for your time Russell.

To purchase Russell Marshall's Exclusive Twenty Seven limited edition print, go here.

To view available Russell Marshall limited edition prints, visit here.

To read our previous Meet The Artist interview with Brighton-based artist Ben Allen, click here.

Banksy Art Work Sells For Five Times Estimated Price

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:46:00 GMT

A collection of 18 works by world-renown graffiti artist Banksy sold for more than £400,000 at Bonham's auction in London, including Girl and Balloon which fetched more than five times its pre-sale estimation of £15,000-£25,000, being bought for £73,250.

The image had been painted directly onto a cardboard backing of an Ikea frame and is signed and inscribed: For Mike, Thanks.

Another highlight was a stencil painting, Leopard and Barcode, which was bought from Banky's LA exhibition Existencilism and had never been offered at auction before. It's pre-sale estimation price was £60,000 - £80,000 and it sold for £75,650.

In a separate auction at Bonhams, a screenprint of a dollar sign by American pop artist Andy Warhol sold for £44,450.

The Banksy auction result confirm Alan Montgomery, Urban Art Specialist at Bonhams comment here that “Banksy’s popularity still goes from strength to strength, with the market for his work certainly following suit. We are excited to be offering this group of works, which includes some of his best known and most sought after images.

"It seems that the public just can’t get enough of him, and his continued anonymity, even following last year’s Oscar nomination, only adds to his enigma. Increased international interest means that he is no longer just collected in the UK, but now has a truly global following.”

View available signed, unsigned and limited editiion Banksy prints here.

On The Streets 29-03-12

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:09:00 GMT

The sun is shining, it's t-shirt weather, and it's the perfect time to hit the streets in search of the freshest urban art. We, however, are busily working away, so instead we've found the best new street art from around the world online. Here's our hot favourites.

Zerser, Push and Esk, via

ROA in Miami

Vhils in Shanghai

ROA, again

Phlegm, via

Stikman, via

DCT Seth and Elliot Tubac, via

That's all folks! For last week's On The Streets, click here