Hush has been painting here frequently in 2008, the same year in which his technique of melding large eyed temptresses in various form of undress with furious backgrounds consisting off newspaper cuttings, 1950′s americana quotes has become much sort after. Click here for my interview with Hush, more work and a clever video from Romanywg.

It was only a matter of time until Hush painted ‘his’ women with their breateses out…

click on the picture for the full effect

Also painting that day was Asbestos. Mysterious, hand obsessed Irish artist who has been making his mark on the art scene through subtle ‘finger painting at the Cans Festival and the Take A Deep Breath Show at the Carmichael Gallery across the pond. One to watch out for.

Click here for Asbestos website and click on the picture right for a the bigger picture.

The following Saturday, Anthony for Opus sorted out for Part2ism (or part2 for the oldschool folk) to come and paint with Copyright down at the Yard. Everyone was pretty miffed that Part2 had painted over Hush’s piece, but he assured us he rang Hush to ask him personally. Here’s Copyright’s piece below, for more info on Part2 and Copyright check the Opus Underground website.

Gent of the scene Blam painted down on Cargo’s infamous ’5th wall’.  The dude has his ‘painting open mouths’ down. Click here for Blam’s website.

A couple of weeks later the 5th wall was covered in twisted icons of capitalism, self imposed happy heroes of our generation, ugly spokespeople of the dumb founded kids from the 80′s. That’s right, Australia’s finest Ben Frost, at the tail end of his Craptalism show on Dray Walk, came down to throw up a black and white version of his take on the corporate world. We all think we should have a massive colouring in competition like Wimpy used to have. Don’t go outside the lines!!

If you want to paint or know someone who would like to ‘do their art’ down in Cargo’s yard, then drop an e-mail to art@cargo-london.com. Thanks to everyone who comes down and keeps the walls ticking over, and an extra special thanks to Anthony from Opus Underground. Big Up

Lots of love

WetPaint

Street Art is famous. Not ‘did you see me jumping around in the background of that live news piece’ famous either, Street Art is proper. Street Art IS the news piece. As I took my 6pm power-nap on Friday night, the Radio 4 news announced that Banksy has unveiled some new art in a disused railway next to Waterloo. Damn, street art on Radio 4? Charlotte Green saying ‘guerrilla street artist’ gives me the ‘orn (actually anything that Charlotte Green says give me the ‘orn)

So my friend and I shouldn’t have been surprised to turn the corner of Leake Street on Bank Holiday Sunday to see the hour and half long queue that sprawled infront of us.

Hell, it should have been obvious that when upon googling the ‘Cans Festival’ name and a sponsored link for the stencil based art exhibition sprung up as a highlighted box, that this Banksy-powered 3 day long street art event was going to be rammed for the duration, having has it’s very public arse, PR’d the hell off.

All the better for it though, the Cans Fesitval was a really special event, nicely hosted, well run, suitable grungey and run down with walls, cars, hoardings, and boards full of the best stencil art in the world. Everyone who cuts outs and sprays for a living was there, there was a blackboard with the newly arrived artists’ names scrawled on it. Hush and Eelus was on there when I walked past.

One complaint my friend had was that the £3 programme being sold in the queue had nothing about the artists who were painting that weekend. Only some cobbled together texts from some old anarchists and the same old pseudo-intelligent, apocalyptic one liners about freedom found in any Socialists fanzine. Aimed at

the normal street art exhibition goers, the programme should have been more informative to the crowd that turned up, which was a refreshingly broad spectrum:

Students filling their art foundation portfolio, Londonites filling their bank holiday weekend, parents dragged along by their kids, kids dragged along by their parents, not the typical ubertrendy free booze snagging laggers who normally frequent these street art shindigs. Another top notch achievement by the organisers of this event, properly bringing the attention of the masses to the glut of quality stencil art that is walked by each day on the streets of the UK, via the power of google sponsored links and Radio 4.

The taste tide might be turning on Banksy (on the bus down to Waterloo, there was new stencil on the side of a disused pub in Dalston that has a Rat painting a sold sign with the tag ‘Wanksy’ underneath it). but all kudos must be given for the ‘look at me / don’t look at me / why aren’t you looking at me?’ street artist for putting his full weight behind this event and giving some overdue exposure to some brilliant artists. Banksy pieces were pretty special too, even with his trademark ‘twat-you-over-the-head’ subtly of sentiment, his pieces’ stood out.

But the best thing about this show was coming across brilliant pieces from Artists who’s work is normally only seen on the streets of Argentina, Spain, Italy and from all over the world. And putting to use this old train tunnel to showcase such top talent.

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