Despite an afternoon of heavy rain last Thursday, a large crowd was on hand to watch security struggle (literally) to open the doors of the Sickboy’s 3 day London show – Heaven & Earth.  However that delay, plus the relatively slow name checking procedure, mattered for no one as they caught a glimpse of the collection of visual delights that lay beyond.

First up, upon peering into the large open room your eyes were drawn to a caravan standing proudly in the far corner.  Kitted out in the famous red and yellow Sickboy colours, it soon became apparent that this was actually the bar dishing out a variety of booze, and not surprisingly a large queue quickly formed.

But whilst your gaze initially descended upon the brightly coloured mobile holiday home come drinks dispenser, it was impossible to ignore the plethora of meticulously-detailed paintings, riddled with their religious undertones that covered the walls.  Appropriately titled with names such as “King of Undesire”, “Critically Zen”, “Forget” and “Forgiven” these colourful masterpieces encompassed Sickboy’s own notion of heaven and earth. Fantastically detailed with sickly looking characters, rockets, angels, tags, trains, and the odd temple, this body of work was exceptional and a perfect example of how a street artist can translate their work from street to gallery. In fact many other artists should take note!

Prior to the show Sickboy allowed his website visitors to confess all, and get any sins they may have committed off their chests.  Promising to display each and every one, these unedited misdemeanours were projected onto a big screen for all to read.  I rather enjoyed the West End drug dealers who admitted to lacing their wares with a bit of laxative to ensure a messy end for their clients.  And of course there were plenty of sexual references to teachers and their daughter’s, girlfriends and their mum’s.

For all those last minute sins, or for those that just couldn’t think of one before the show opened, a large confessional booth equipped with a priest was on hand.  Although to be honest I am not sure how many visited the booth to confess or to just explore and view more of Sickboy’s artwork which adorned both the outside and in.  Maybe if the priest was hidden behind a screen some may have been more forthcoming, I certainly found it a little weird to just be stood in a small room with another bloke, let alone go ahead explain any times I may have misbehaved.

Whilst the show was billed as one based around four major installations, I personally felt they seemed to blend into each other and consequently it was hard to see each as individual entities.  However I have to admit that that was not necessarily a bad thing and the fourth and final of these installations was perhaps the one I was most looking forward to – a collaboration with 12 of Sickboy’s fellow artists and friends. It came in the form of a series of wooden bricks, a medium Sickboy has visited before, which were then stacked to form a wall. Designs and editions varied but I was most taken by the Word to Mother and Paul Insect collabs and a couple of the Conor Harrington’s. From a sales perspective the installation certainly seemed popular, but it may have just been the due to the sheer size of the space that I felt it became a little lost, maybe it was the fact that the bricks were not over the top.  Nevertheless I really liked the concept and execution of the individual bricks.

In short this was Sickboy at his best and by far my favourite show of the year so far, and I am sure that many in the packed out venue will agree.  This was street art meets gallery, street artist becomes fine artist. It’s just a shame it only lasted 3 days.

For more information about Sickboy head over to his website, and make sure you check out the gallery section as Ian Cox has done a much better job, that I have, of taking photos of each of the pieces from the show.

Photos by Shower.

Best known for his iconic red and yellow ‘Temples’ sprayed onto walls and wheelie bins worldwide, Sickboy returns this Thursday (November 3rd) with only his second major London solo show. Personally I’m quite suprised it is only his second!

Inspired by semiotics and symbolism, Renaissance paintings and the surreal landscape workings of artists like Hieronymus Bosch, this new body of work promises to demonstrate “a deeper development of the artist’s visual vocabulary.”

A celebration of earthly sins and heavenly fantasies, the show is to be comprised of four major major installations, including a walk-in confessional booth and an additional exhibit of confessions from members of the public anonymously revealed before the show.

But for me I am most looking forward to seeing Sickboy collaborating with a who’s who of eminent artists on a third element; D*Face, Eine, Anthony Lister, Paul Insect, Vhils, Conor Harrington, Xenz, Word to Mother, Will Barras, Eelus, Mudwig and Hush.

With the final surprise installation to be unveiled on the opening night, this show sounds like one not to miss. But be quick as it only lasts 3 days, located at Dray Walk, 91 Brick Lane, and ends on Sunday 6th November!

For a bit more info about the show and for those of you who would like to know more about Sickboy then I recommend 3 interviews he has recently completed with Londonist, The Playground and Zeitgeist Magazine.

Video courtesy of Sickboy. Photos by Viktor Vauthier.

Conor Harrington at Hell's Half Acre

Lazarides are headed back to The Old Vic Tunnels off of Leake Street in London, the site of last year’s Hell’s Half Acre show and Banksy’s launch for Exit Through the Gift Shop. If you thought Hell’s Half Acre was a bit of a posh haunted house, you ain’t seen nothing yet. From October 10th through November 4th, Lazarides are turning the tunnels into an art exhibition space, but also a Michelin Star pop-up restaurant. The show is called The Minotaur, after the Greek legend. The absurdity of the whole thing leaves me speechless. As for the art, there will be a labyrinth-esque installation with new work from a number of artists including Conor Harrington, Stanley Donwood, 3D and Lucy McLauchlan. Unfortunately, it will cost £5 to get in if you aren’t under 18. Entry is free to some, but by some I mean it’s free if you’re eating at the restaurant for £65 a head, haha. On the plus side, there’s a bar, so you’ll be able to drink away the pain of having spent £65 to eat in a dilapidated storage room.

I dunno. Maybe this will be fun and full of amazing artwork and food. It probably will be enjoyable for the select few who get to experience it, but The Minotaur still strikes me as absurd and way over-the-top. Kind of like a real minotaur.

Photo by IanVisits

Making a stop in Lisbon, Conor Harrington, put up a beautiful piece the other day that Stick2Target captured. I really think his outdoor work is so much more impressive than his indoor pieces, especially in-person.

And as RJ stated on Twitter last week, I am interning at Lazarides, so I will try to avoid writing about LAZ artists and upcoming shows, but this piece is pretty awesome and I couldn’t resist. Was, is and always will be a Harrington fan.

Photos by Stick2Target

With the run-up to Frieze in London and everyone and their mother in town for events, there has been a bit of an explosion of art this week. So, I thought I would do a little round-up of pieces I have come across online since for the next few days all you will hear is “Oh my God! Hell’s Half Acre is Amazing!!” and “Moniker looks so cool!” Sometimes we need a break from that. Ok, well at least I do.

Motor in Leake Street by Steph Keller

Banksy Door at Old Vic Tunnels by Butterfly

Trustocorp for Reform School in NYC

Eine "Calculate" by VNA

Sando by Walls of Milano

Stik on Great Eastern Street by Spen H

Banksy "haring dog" by Romany W G

Oh come on, I had to post this one! It is one of my favorites of the new Banksy pieces. Plus, whoever made the Haring sculpture in response is awesome. It is a great addition unlike the graffiti next to it.

EuroTrash featuring Conor Harrington, Vhils, JR and Antony Micallef from ST Press on Vimeo.

For those of you that have been following our coverage of Lazarides latest show EuroTrash here on Vandalog, this newly released video (which is rather sweet might I add) captures all the action building up to the shows opening night and lets you see the stellar line up of artists inlcuding Vhils, JR, Antony Micallef and Conor Harrington at work. Worth a watch if like me you are unable to attend to show itself. Check it out!

You can also read our exclusive interview with one of EuroTrash’s featured artists Conor Harrington here

Hailing from Cork; the second largest city in Ireland – Conor Harrington’s work is what can only be described as a perfect marriage between both the elegance of fine art and the abrasive techniques of street art. Conor’s routes in urban culture may be hard to see amongst his many historical references to those involved in battle; often seen marching through explosions of colour and graffiti styled lettering in his work. Needless to say, every one of Conor’s pieces portrays a small part of the battle field in itself or more to the point a brilliant potent clash of styles. However Conor’s hard, dripping and typographically-inspired lines are a culmination of years of practice working his way through the graffiti scene world wide. Years later and now wanting to shake off any labels, Conor’s work has come to mature and evolve into what he likes to call “post-graffiti” – A style that showcases his finer practice yet still remembers its routes.

Conor recently took some type out to talk to us here at Vandalog. Check it out!

Can you remember a time when Art really started to influence what you wanted to do with your life?

Its hard to put an exact time on it really, but I think I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I don’t come from a creative background at all so there wasn’t exactly a pre-prepared path for me. When I was around 10 I wanted to be an architect. That sounds desperately pretentious but don’t worry I didn’t know what an architect was, I just loved drawing pictures of buildings. My uncles moved to Chicago in the early 70s and worked on the Sears Tower when it was being built. Ireland didn’t have any sky-scrapers, and still doesn’t so I was completely enthralled by these huge buildings. I’ve toyed with the idea of adding an architectural element to my paintings but I think there’s a strong structural influence in there already. But I think the big moment came in ’94 when I did my first graffiti piece. That was the time I first realized there was no other road for me, although I’m not sure what the 14 year-old Conor would think of my work now.

In a rather short space of time your artwork has managed to make a rather large impact on the urban art scene and has created a lot of interest and attention fairly rapidly around yourself. But of course this wasn’t always the case. How does it feel to have become such a well known name in the street art world and how do you deal with such an experience?

I don’t really see myself like that, there are a lot of big names on this scene and sometime I’m not sure how I fit in, my work is so torn between two worlds really. But the last few years have been good, especially since the recession funny enough. During the Street Art boom people just wanted something that looked like Banksy so a lot of artists benefited from that, but now thankfully things have matured. The street art scene has been a kind of fast-track to success for a lot of people. Some artists had day jobs as designers and within months of the boom they had sell out shows. I had been to art college for 4 years before all that so I think that shows a dedication to being an artist. I came out and had a number of shows before the world had even heard of street art so I think I’d still be doing it with or without the street art explosion. I’m glad the boom is over, I’m just knuckling down in my studio as always and trying to improve my work.

Starting out as a graffiti artist must have been pretty hard for you, especially as you began on a rather small to non existent scene back in your home town of Cork, Ireland. Although you’ve credited this experience for allowing you to learn and pick up your own technique freely, has it been some what of an overwhelming experience visiting the U.S and painting over there? It must be a dream come true in some respects.

I’ve been to the US a few times now but the first time was fairly special. It was in 2000 and I went to NY on a student visa to work for the summer. I painted at what was then called the Phun Phactory (now called 5Pointz) and I remember coming over on the 7 looking down on all the graf with Nas’ ‘NY State of Mind’ playing on my walkman (yip tapes, took me so long to let go of them). Classic New York moment for me.

Like many other artists who share a background in graffiti, you are also trying to shake off those labels and become recognized for the work you’re creating now as a painter. Obviously you’re still actively painting on walls and buildings, so do you think it will be harder to get rid of such a label when ultimately you’re still creating graffiti?

That’s a good point but I think people are thinking a little less about labels these days. Also the majority of my output is indoors, from the studio, and I operate under my real name as opposed to a tag so I don’t think I suffer under the label as much as others.

Your girlfriend (Chloe Early) is also a very successful painter. Both your work and that of hers often seem to have a similar lay out and style. Do you ever look to each other for artistic advice or inspiration?

Everyday. Her studio is a 1 minute walk from mine so we spend a lot of time in front of each others paintings. We both understand each others work more than anyone else so if I’m struggling with a painting she can walk in with fresh eyes and tell me exactly what I’m doing wrong.

All of your artwork seems to have this very intense and fluctuating energy about it. Would you say that this is same type of energy you hold as a person?

I have a lot of energy but I think I’m fairly shy and chilled. I have a quiet nature but I can’t stand being in quiet places, that’s why I love cities and loud music. I think I need to be in chaotic intense places to compensate for my own lack of loudness. Its possibly the same with my work, I put it all down on canvas. I also like my paintings to reflect the world we live in today, like a loud, cross-pollinated, re-mixed, information-overloaded mongrel.

How long did it take you to paint the work for your latest show, Euro Trash?

I worked on it since Christmas but the 4 large pieces took up 95% of the time.

Were you a fan of Jr, Vhils and Antony Micallef’s work before the show came together?

Yip absolutely. JR and Vhils are making some of the most exciting and ambitious street art today and I’ve always thought of Antony as the strongest painter on the ‘urban’ scene, God I bet he hates that label, he’s so far beyond it.

What gives a you a bigger buzz – painting on walls or on canvas?

They’re very different things for me. My canvases take forever, I toil and toil over them, sweating, cursing, smiling (no crying yet) until I’m even slightly satisfied. My walls on the other hand are a lot quicker, although I do struggle with them more. If a painting isn’t working out I can put it away and work on something else. If a wall isn’t working out you can’t put it away so you have to work through these problems in a much shorter period of time and in public.

And finally, what’s next for Conor Harrington? In regards to your work, new projects and any other personal aspirations you have in life. Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to?

There’s a few exciting Laz shows coming up that I’m getting busy for and I have my solo show there in late 2011 that I need to start thinking about. I’m going out to Fame next week with Word 2 Mother, and Andy Telling will be doing a short film. Actually he still has to finish editing my Israel/Palestine trip so maybe I won’t let him on the plane. I’m looking forward to eating lots of ice-cream in Italy, don’t think I’ll paint at all, just eat.  So I’d like to give a massive shout-out to all the Gelaterias in Grottaglie. I’m coming, get busy.

Be sure to check out more from Conor by visiting his website.

Photos by Wall Kandy/Ian Cox and Vandalog

Last week we updated you on the collaborative wall that JR and Vhils have been working on in downtown Los Angeles, to coincide with the EuroTrash opening. Now we’ve got some pictures of the Wall that Conor Harrington blessed Venice Beach with this weekend. Wall can be found on Abbot Kinney & Santa Clara in Venice Beach.

More photos can be found here

Lazarides LA newest show – EuroTrash sets up a stellar line up of some of the hottest European artists around right now. Using the overlooked, misunderstood and mundane elements of  everyday life,  EuroTrash aims to captures its audiences attention with the distinctive style and alternative approach that artists JR, Conor Harrington, Antony Micallef and Vhils bring with them. Sharing a vested interest in their individual and collective surroundings and society, they poetically express a desire for universal appreciation – despite the tacky connotation that is usually associated with the term “Euro Trash”.

Frances very own JR (seen above) is known for immersing himself within cultures where struggle and conflict are rife. He presents his monochromatic photographs, often over 20 feet high on unconventional exhibiting arena’s to highlight humanist matters that are often overlooked. Cork born painter Conor Harrington (seen at the top) on the other hand, goes against the grain of the fast pace of graffiti art preferring to opt for the slower process of oil painting. Interested in opposing elements, illusion of power and the emotional side of masculinity, soldiers and conquerors exist within Conor’s colorful and abstracted landscapes, yet never forget his street roots.

London based Antony Micallef’s (seen above) energetic work both celebrates and despises contemporary society. The world portrayed by Micallef is one of contradictions as Barbie becomes the Virgin Mary adorned with a Chanel necklace and cutesy paraphernalia, Angel’s wield guns and Soldiers wear flower power printed uniforms. Portuguese artist Vhils (seen below) works with manipulating surfaces, whether it is the brick façade of buildings with masonry equipment or layered fly posters that he peels away, he transforms these varying planes to reveal mystifying, striking portraits that explore a cities dimensions

Thursday night was the opening for Conor Harrington’s Headless Heroes show at Lazarides Gallery on Rathbone Place. The gallery was pretty busy, and as a few people pointed out to me, a number of attendees were people who rarely make it to other openings and are really just die-hard Conor fans.

As usual, Conor’s paintings combine graffiti, fine art, realism and abstraction.

Some of the best pieces weren’t canvases but the sketches and studies. In fact, I think it would be great to see an entire show of Conor’s studies.

A study

A study

Photos by Ian Cox. More photos on his flickr