BRICK LANE {ALTERNATIVE LONDON}

ALTERNATIVE LONDON

A couple weeks back, when I was visiting London, I went on an Alternative tour, after getting a strong recommendation from my friend who went a few days before me. It was a walking tour, focused on the street art of East London. This is their website. You have to book beforehand, but it's worth it. {Also worth mentioning is that they run on a pay-how-much-you-want basis.}

I took my camera and marched to the statue of a goat outside the Spitafields market - the meeting point. The tour lasted about two hours and I found out loads about East London and its past. Even if you're a Londoner yourself, it's still pretty informative, as you get to hear about a different side of things. I found out a lot about street art too, and that walking through Brick Lane you can spot all kinds of creatures. 

The artist whose work is in the first picture paints windows and then scratches the paint off in place. The results are pretty effective and in case the police stop him, he apparently says he's just cleaning the window from the paint. Clever guy.

The second picture is a mural by Lily Mixe, one of few female street artists. I'm only showing you a small detail here, but if you google her name, this wall is one of the first to come up. It's always very detailed and intricate and what I imagine a pain in the neck to create! 

Below are some mouthwatering treats.

STREET ART AND CHOCOLATES

First of all, I don't have muddy hands, it's cocoa! I got it all over when I was trying to pull these treats out of a cellophane bag. The one with a bottle is a baileys bonbon, yum, but my personal favourite is the sparkly caramel in the little cup. These chocolates, they don't even look like food anymore. They're are from a corner shop on Brick Lane called Dark Sugars. It has all kinds of bonbons and even though they look a bit plastic, {in a good way}, you can most definitely eat them. It's recommended, even! Just beware, you pay what it weights and if you go wild, well, expect the price to go up exponentially too. You are welcome to get your hands dirty. I did.

Now onto the small statue of a female body with wings; you can find loads of little statues on camp posts, there's about 40 in London, just look up! Each is one of a kind. The reason why I'm showing you this particular one is because the wings were actually crafted from a real dead pigeon wings. Not sure it that's a WOW or an EW moment. Feel about it as you wish.

Darth Vader is one of my favourites too. It was done {illegally} at night and the artist{s} got drove a lifting platform all the way from the other side of the city, wore hi-vis vests and closed off the streets around that building. They pretended to be proper contracted workers. One of them actually directed traffic. What a cheeky {but brilliant} idea.

On this tour you'll also find out how East London has been shrinking for the past few years and how it really should be protected as something different, something unique that you won't find anywhere else. I agree. Protect this diversity before it disappears. What do you think? Would you rather see London become all modern with tall glassy buildings? Me, I prefer it with its slowly diminishing charm and character.
I've seen how much street art has evolved over the years and it's amazing that every time I walk through Brick Lane, I find it changed. The walls change every few months, like in a gallery. I have to admit, I don't much like the look of graffiti, but I love what these artists are doing now. Bringing fine are to the streets.

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