For those of you who follow my blog every month you may have thought that perhaps I forgot to post something for the month of October. Truth is, I have been away on a trip to England. There I found lots of inspiration and as a result, I took a lot of photographs. I now have tonnes of material to sort through and I would like to share some of my photography from this trip, here on the blog. Over the next while, I will select a theme and a body of work for each blog entry.
For my first blog in this series of photography themes from my travels, I will focus on the graffiti found in Camden Town. Camden Town is one of my favourite places in London, England. It is truly a unique spot with an amazing street culture. From the famous Camden Market, to the pubs, music, people and the overall vibe that this particular area generates. It’s always a good time there because this place has such great energy. I will expand on Camden Town in another blog entry, but today I wish to look at the graffiti found on the streets of Camden.
London is made up of many different borough. In and around some of these boroughs are pockets that exhibit some wonderful street art, more commonly known as graffiti. From what I have witnessed, there are some very talented artists in the streets of London and many of them reside in Camden.
Immediately, I noticed that a lot of the graffiti in Camden was more than just tags, profanity sprawled across a wall or spray painted markings that are unwanted blemishes on the sides of buildings. It is Street art. The artists who painted these murals have clearly taken an enormous amount of time and effort to create these images. These individuals are proud of their community and the people in it, and that is evident in what they choose to paint.
Many of these works feature bold colours, a vivid imagination, beautiful portraits, social commentary and an endless amount of creativity. The murals are just another ingredient that adds to the cultural richness that exists in this part of the city.
There are some re-occurring themes. For example, Amy Winehouse had a huge impact on Camden Town. She called this place home, she frequented the local pubs and spoke on several occasions on how much she loved this place. Many consider her to be the queen of Camden. She adored Camden Town and Camden loved her back. There are countless murals on the streets of her or images referencing her iconic look. She has become a legend and Camden is proud to call her one of their own. The community is keeping her memory alive in many different ways and the abundance of “Amy street art” is just one example.
This selection of photos was taken on Hawley Mews, just off of Hawley Street. Yes, Hawley…as in my last name. This area is located just across the street from Camden Market near the Camden Bridge. I was drawn to the area because of all the wonderful murals that run into each other on the same road. It’s interesting to see the different styles, techniques and subject matter. These images brighten up an otherwise dingy, dead-end street that no one would care to see, if not for these murals.
I could have wandered through the streets to discover many more examples of street art in Camden, but this is just a taste and if you want more, you will have to go there and check it out for yourself… I highly recommend it!
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