Mural

I take no cognisance of what is pretentiously called "street art". It’s all a bit too mainstream for me. Mooed over by urban sophisticates, reproduced in coffee table volumes, given the imprimatur of the Sunday supplements, Banksy is the Edwin Landseer de nos jours. It all looks the same from Glasgow to Singapore. The authorities presumably connive at it, reasoning that it brings in tourists and young people to places like Brick Lane, Whitechapel, where they can convince themselves that they are participating in something edgey and subversive. When this happens all edginess and subversiveness flees. The gas mask is supposed to convey some tiresome political message or other, I suppose, but if you can ignore that it’s at least possible to appreciate this as a well-executed example.
This was taken on Christmas Day, during our traditional …well, we’ve done it two years running now… drive-and-park around central London.

Posted by Fray Bentos on 2008-12-26 14:19:12

Tagged: , mural , grafitti , street art , London , Whitechapel , Brick Lane , self-portrait