Monday, August 23, 2010

Matlakas is back.

(UPDATE 25 Aug 2010)  These 2 paintings were removed this morning.  I did say get a look while they're still fresh but I didn't expect them to get painted over that quickly.  What seems to have happened is this: a tagger came along and stuck a couple of fairly random sub-NVQ graffiti green splodges in neighbouring arches.  The council anti-graffitil team, who don't seem to have a problem with Matlakas' work, do have a brief to remove graffiti and they can't really make aesthetic judgements about what is art and what is graffiti, so the whole lot had to go.  So thank you, idiot  with the green spraycan for wasting public money and getting artwork removed.

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A while ago this graffiti artist - real name Riccardo Attanasio - did some rather striking art on the arches on the Ha'penny Hatch.  One conscientious citizen even called out the police while Matlakas was still at work, and yet he managed to convince them that it was art and the police went away content.  Later, of course, someone came along and sprayed someone's phone number with lewd suggestions on a neighbouring arch and the anti-graffiti team painted over the whole lot.

Well, these two have just reappeared.  Best to get a look while they're still fresh. 




And here's a photo of the first one - Feb 2009



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Disappearing Deptford


Ok, record stuck in a groove time again....  I have this theory that Deptford is going to disappear.  Already, Greenwich SE8 has become a westward-drifting reality and there's also a gradual expansion of Brockley from the south (Deptford cemetery is now Brockley cemetery, Deptford Common is now Hilly Fields).  And today, quite by chance, I wanted to get a streetview image of somewhere in Deptford.  I started typing in Deptford High Street but before I'd got half of it done Google auto-completed the address for me.  Yes, Deptford, according to Google, is now in Greenwich!

6 comments:

  1. Nice graffiti. Better than the National Front crap I saw there last weekend (Lewisham Council impressively speedy in getting rid of it, I'm pleased to say.)

    As for Google Maps - Google usually defaults to the borough, although there are some quirks. The top of Deptford High Street and Lamerton Street was run by Greenwich until 1994 so I imagine they're using an old map. If you play around with it, the area around Convoys Wharf (Dacca Street, Sayes Court Gardens) also appears as its old borough. Bronze Street appears as "Lewisham SE8" and boundary streets just appear as "London SE8".

    There are quirks, though - on the other boundary, Bestwood Street is "Camberwell SE8" as Southwark seems to confuse Google.

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  2. If you want to see evidence of a real attempt of a takeover, btw - look at the long white "DEPTFORD HIGH STREET SE8" sign on top of the car spares shop at the junction with Creek Road. That was put up by Greenwich Council - and see what postcode you can just make out beneath the painted "8"...

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  3. He he, another London streets challenge, eh? I'm going to have go and have a look.

    Actually, I knew the people living upstairs from the corner shop and it was always Greenwich that didn't quite get round to collecting their refuse. I understood the council boundary was just one address in - if the building fronted Creek Road, Greenwich were the council - so the corner shop was Greenwich, the shop next to it was Lewisham. I didn't know about Lamerton Street.

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  4. The giveaway on Lamerton Street is the old lozenge street sign at the end - old Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich signs which are slowly disappearing. There's another one at the Elverson Road/ Brookmill Road junction, which also switched boroughs.

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  5. Blimey that was quick...the graffiti's gone already!

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