I had only two hours after work on one Thursday evening –
surely not enough time to spend in this chaotic, edgy and vibrant area. I could
almost see the physical borders walking from Liverpool Street station. One
minute I am surrounded by white collars of the investment banks and next I am the
only one wearing jacket on the street which, quite honestly, made me feel a bit
uneasy. I took off my jacket and almost blended in with my blue dress, still
too formal for this place...
Brick Lane in East London, once
associated with poor slums and scenes of crimes, is a small and diverse neighbourhood
which has now become extremely popular with London’s artistic crowd. Named
after a rather long road between Shoreditch and Whitechapel, it used to be
known as “Banglatown” – a home for Bangladeshi community - with bilingual road
signs placed to help immigrants in the 80s who were unable to speak English,
but it is now largely a Bengali neighbourhood with many galleries, cafes, restaurants,
shops and street markets.
And yes, all that is present but I came to see something Brick Lane is particularly famous for - its graffiti...
After wondering on the streets for nearly two hours, I randomly walked into an open car park where I became witness of how graffiti is made. James Cochran, aka Jimmy.C, an full time artist with 20 years experience was creating his masterpiece - the portrait of Usain Bolt - in the preparation for London 2012 Olympics...
'It took me two days so far' he said when I asked if he had a minute to chat, 'and I am aiming to finish by Saturday'.
50 street art spray cans at a cost of £3.75 each, the tower rented for these days and the parking spaces paid for - it proves that graffiti is not a cheap hobby to have. But such a true inspiration - thank you, Jimmy.C for making my usual Thursday so special!
