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| East life E6 resident Mathew Heath asks, getting more colourful?” I don’t mean the many spring flowers or the beautiful parks, though that certainly helps, I’m talking about graffiti/spraycan art that has been popping up more and more in Newham. I think I first came to Newham as a teen in 1986 when the older lads in my hometown had identified what we would call a “hall of fame” (i.e., some walls where there was a lot of good graffiti art) somewhere in West Ham. We would come up early in the mornings to avoid any trouble and go to these places – West Ham, the Half Moon theatre, Covent Garden, Westway - to hone our own styles by photographing and then copying some of the letters. Of course, I didn’t realise then, as a 14 year old, that one day I would make Newham my home, get married and bring up my family here while somehow maintaining a love for this sometimes maligned art form that had its roots in 1970s New York City and spread across the globe (as did the hip hop music that accompanied it). As teens, in suburban Essex, our first exposure to graffiti art was via a documentary called Style Wars and a book called Subway Art. Graffiti grew from messy “tagging” (writing your name/ nom de plume on every available surface) to big colourful lettering and characters, to a respected art form that moved into galleries. Some of the experts from back in the day, Mode 2 of The Chrome Angels (who won a lot of commissioned pieces in the 80s) can now command thousands of pounds for his artwork. Banksy, whose roots were in the Bristol scene, probably needs no introduction. So this brings us to Newham. The first commissioned graffiti art I noticed was in the 8 LOVEEAST Images: Mathew Heath
“Is it me, or is Newham | East life Itaewon MYL Mr Cenz Dan Kitchener early 00s (and is still there) at the end of Harold Road, off of Green Street. More recently, I noticed a “hall of fame” along the Greenway by Memorial Park while running. You can also see two huge murals by Dan Kitchener – one in Plaistow (tiger pic) and one off of Romford Road (Stratford end). Also in Plaistow is a mural by Mr Cenz and round the corner, the Secret Weapon pub is decorated by Itaeown of MYL. So how long is it before Newham has graffiti walking tours like Brick Lane or Shoreditch? And do you agree that it's making Newham a more colourful place to be? Mathew has lived with his partner (now wife) in Newham since 2003. In the daytime, he does marketing and elsewhere does parenting, running, drinking of coffee and buying and listening to lots of music. Follow Matthew on twitter: @here_comes_B LOVEEAST Jan/Feb 2020 9
Page 1 and 2: Jan/Feb 2020 ISSUE 53 FREE Hooksmit
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