Exploring Shoreditch

Shoreditch was for sure one of my favourite neighbourhoods to explore in London.  Not only is it filled with trendy shops and restaurants like the delicious Crosstown Doughnuts, it's also bursting at the seams with gorgeous architecture.  I especially loved the exposed brick and unique finishings.    

The best thing about wandering up and down the lanes, however, was all of the amazing street art.  I started near the Old Spitafields Market, which is in a bit more of an upscale area with beautiful, untouched, brick buildings, and walked up Commercial Street towards the Shoreditch High Street Overground Station.  This was where more and more artwork began to pop up on the facades.  As I made my way deeper into the heart of the neighbourhood I realized it was hard to find a blank exterior anywhere.  There was so much beautiful artwork to be found, and while some of the pieces consisted of merely a quick tag, even they managed to add to the aesthetic (despite often covering up larger pieces in the process). 

Artists like Thierry Noir, Stik, Ozmo, Banksy, Ben Eine and so many more fill every available wall space.  Some pieces are done as commissions for local businesses while others are created for same reasons other artists make art.  As a generalization, a lot of street art is political in some way, which is definitely my favourite type of work.

Unfortunately I didn't always know whose work I was looking at, so I can't credit the artists for their work shown below, but please enjoy some of the things that caught my eye as I wandered around Shoreditch.