We don’t usually write too much about street art on our blog. Although our London HQ sits almost on top of some of the best examples in London we give way to the so many blogs that cover that genre of art that have great accumulated knowledge and insight.
However, there is one piece that we want to mention just because it is so close by. Also, now that spring is here and our studio windows are open, we get to hear the details of the piece of art and the artist every few hours each day – thanks to the graffiti tour guides!! Criss-crossing our manor.
Beneath one of the railway arches is a hidden piece from artist DALeast. Chinese born DALeast is a street artist an experienced painter, sculptor and digital artist. He dropped out of an undergraduate degree in sculpture because he felt he was being taught to work as his lecturers did and not to become an artist of his own. That was when his career as a graffiti artist begun. He says he does not create his work to make political statements, like a lot of his peers, but rather he believes that the politics in art is art itself.
His work features mostly giant animals created through thousands of transforming and transcending Black lines of spray paint which he builds up using Grey and White strokes to create a 3d effect. There is great skill and amazing attention to detail in how he creates the illusions that his subjects are made of metal shards disintegrating from within or falling away at the sides.
So, the one that we hear about daily depicts an animal breaking into two- (it’s difficult to determine the type of animal), accompanied by a scuba diver. The air bubbles from animal and diver disappear into the roof of the archway and add to the real life illusion that is helped by the shadow that DALeast has worked into the art.
It’s easy to overlook the good things right on your doorstep so we give thanks to the Graffiti tours on this one.
His work can be found at
