Street art can be found almost everywhere in London, especially around East London, in fact Shoreditch boasts one of the highest concentration of street art anywhere in the world.
We all know London is expensive but going on a self-guided tour is absolutely free and you’ll always discover something new because fresh works are being painted all the time. In fact you shouldn’t be surprised if some of the ones I highlight are painted – but I’ll try to update this page as much as possible to avoid disappointment. Street art isn’t just wall murals, you can discover contemporary sculptures and quirky installations dotted across the capital. Enjoy!
David Bowie by James Cochran
Location: Tunstall Road, Brixton
There’s a Starman waiting on the side of Morley’s department store in Brixton as a huge mural pays homage to the late local resident – David Bowie. Created in 2013 by Australian street artist James Cochran, the mural has become a popular memorial to Bowie after his death in January 2016. Mirroring the portrait of his 1973 album Aladdin Sane, the piece is now preserved by plastic to protect it from the elements.
Murals by Dale Grimshaw
Location: Holywell Lane, Shoreditch
Grimshaw is a successful fine artist who also creates bold and striking portraits across London’s streets. My favourite is the above mural in Shoreditch which was recently revealed in June 2018. The work features Grimshaw’s signature subject style of strongly tribal subjects, fused with bright colours and motifs. The gaze of his subjects can make any passerby stop in their tracks.
The Glitch (Clockwork Orange) by Zabou
Location: Village Underground wall, Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch
Nearby Grimshaw’s mural, you can also spot this new wall mural of Alex from Kubrick’s masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange. It was created by French artist, Zabou, who has also depicted other cultural icons such as Bowie and Frida Kahlo across the streets of London.
Footballer Charlie Burns by Kevin Ledo
Location: Bacon Street, Brick Lane
Prior to this mural of the later footballer Charlie Burns was another one of the footballer painted by London artist Ben Slow. For a number of years, Ben’s much-loved portrait of Charlie Burns had run with little or no damage, but the original portrait was vandalised in 2013. Ben repainted the mural with a second portrait of Burns but the tribute piece was vandalised again and this time he felt the damage to the mural was beyond repair. Ben then offered the spot to street artist Ledo on the condition that the piece he painted be a tribute to Charlie Burns.
The Sacred Crane by ROA
Location: Hanbury Street, Brick Lane
Painted by the Belgian street artist ROA, this crane was originally meant to be a heron, but ROA is said to have changed the direction of the piece mid-way through due to Bengali residents of Brick Lane asking him if it was a crane, a bird sacred to their culture.
If you’d like to see more work by ROA take a look at street art in Kiev.
Sculpture by Urban Solid
Location: Buxton Street
Just around the corner from Brick Lane is a wall of wheat pastes and sculptures from various eras. New works are often added to the wall whilst older ones have begun to peel off – this has created an interesting decayed look. Worth a particular mention is the purple female sculpture created by Urban Solid. However, the art changes often on this wall so expect it to look different if you visit.
Girl by James Cochran
Location: Whitby Street, Shoreditch
Here’s another one created by James Cochran in the same style as his David Bowie mural in Brixton. If you look closely, the image is made from hundreds of paint daubs, a style called Pointillism that was pioneered by artist George Seurat in the late 19th century.
Hydra Towers by Phlegm
Location: Ion Square, Hackney Road
You can see many works by Sheffield-born artist Phlegm in London but this huge wall mural is one of my favourites. I love how he has incorporated the building’s doors and windows into his mural featuring black and white characters emerging from tall towers where bird cages sit on top.
Don’t forget to nip inside the building next door which is a gorgeous little cafe called A Portuguese Love Affair. It has the best pastéis de natas in the whole of London!
Jean-Michel Basquiat by Banksy
Location: Golden Lane, Barbican
You can’t pay homage to street art in London without giving a mention to Banksy. September 2017 saw the walls of London graced with not one but two new works from the elusive British street artist. It was in time for the Basquiat exhibition at the Barbican – the first large-scale exhibition of the American artist’s work. The larger of the two works (shown above) references Basquiat’s painting ‘Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump’ and sees a character representing Basquiat being searched by the police.
His & Hers by Patricio Forrester
Location: Junction of Giffin Street and Deptford High Street
This was Patricio’s first mural created in 2002, but since then he has founded South London public art company Artmongers. His initial idea for the mural involved hanging physical objects by chains around the chimneys at the top of the wall but, when this proved impractical, he decided to paint the necklaces and tie – an ironic take on an area traditionally viewed as deprived.
Mixed Street Artists
Location: Leake Street, London SE1 7NN
The tunnel is part of the Leake Street Arches and is London’s largest legal street art area ever since Banksy held the “Cans Festival” here in 2008, as a means of celebrating graffiti as art. Murals here might last a day or two, maybe a week. Such is the competition for legal space, the murals are painted over and over again on a regular basis.
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