Art, street art + graffiti in London - Jackie HawkinsJackie Hawkins

Here. Be. A selection of the best art, street art and graffiti in London that has made me smile, smirk and downright laugh out loud in recent months.

There’s no doubt, London has some of the sharpest creative minds around, and I thank my lucky stars, frankly, that I’m now a Londoner.

Work by Millo, Shoreditch, London.

An installation bearing the face of architect Zaha Hadid created by artist Greg Shapter for Domus Tiles, Great Sutton St, London. Hard to see here, but this is actually a 3D installation of tiles that appears comprehensible only when standing in a certain spot across the road.

Work by Phlegm – always slightly unnerving! Normally found under various railway bridges and dark alleys, here at the Howard Griffin Gallery in Shoreditch, London, were a large number of fantastical creatures in ‘The Bestiary’. This immersive and large scale installation in wood, clay and plaster gave me the proper heebie-jeebies…

Used and dirty…?

Mature.

Wow. Just wow.

Me too my friend, Me too… Fair comment on the encroaching retail wrecking of Mare St, Hackney.

Still, a cosy night’s sleep for a homeless tailor…? Boom boom…

So, lots of these faces by street artist Gregos have been appearing in London, Paris – his home turf, and now all over the world apparently. Cast from his own face, showing different moods and humour, they are guaranteed to raise a smile.

Sometimes, great street art appears for just a few hours or a day or so, and as quickly as it appears it fades from view. Like this wonderful piece by Borondo in Hackney Wick. Turned up last Saturday afternoon, but by morning some tool had covered over all of it and replaced it with a rubbish tag. Arggghhh!! (why?)

Fabulous wood cut prints by Italian artist Umberto Giovannini, on display at Stour Space, Hackney Wick.

Stumbled across this delightful mural on the Whitecross Estate, east London.

These beautiful cityscape illustrations by Laura Jordan are a real pleasure to view. Full of captivating references on the issues facing society today, they combine architectural drawing with illustration in pen, ink and mixed media. She has just opened her own studio/gallery at 273 Hackney Rd – an easy side step on the route between Hackney City Farm and Columbia Rd.

I’m not sure why I like these so much. They are just ordinary scenes of ordinary life in London. But they are beautifully captured in paint. American artist Brett Amory had his first solo show at the Lazarides Gallery, London. Called ‘Twenty Four’, he photographs 24 scenes in the city for one hour at a time, distilling down and capturing the essence of that experience into one representative image.