Thursday 29 February 2024

Street Art: The Wizard of South East London

Penge, in South East London, is a hidden gem for street art. I photographed this colourful wizard on the blinds of a shop the other day. He brought a little magic to a grey February day. 

My husband told me the wizard is a character from He-Man.

I consider myself really lucky to live in the area because every time I go for a wander around the streets I see a gallery of amazing art for free. What's more the art changes regularly as more pieces are painted, and old pictures replaced with new ones. All of the art is legal and done with permission of the people who own the properties that get beautified.

There's even a book that celebrates the art of SE20: SprayExhibition20 - The Street Art of Penge and Anerley. It's a catalogue of colour pictures showing some of the murals on walls, gates, shop window shutters and other urban spaces as well as offering a history of the group of artists responsible for turning the area into an open-air gallery. 

The group originally launched a blog called London Calling, about street art in the capital. They then decided that as well as documenting things in places like Shoreditch, Camden and Hackney, they would bring that creativity closer to where they were based. You can find out more about the street art in Penge here: https://londoncallingblog.net/2017/05/01/a-street-art-guide-to-penge/ 

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/01/review-sprayexhibition20-street-art-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2021/07/street-art-empowering-women-on-south.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/02/pagan-eye-candle-in-street-art-for.html

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