Why We Love... Leake Street aka "The Banksy Tunnel"
London is a big
sprawling city filled with the joys of life and in seemingly every corner lies
something exciting. You don’t have to be from London to know that there are
plenty of reasons to believe the old saying that if you’re sick of London then
you’re sick of life. Such is the buzz that the street art scene of the city is
one of the most vibrant with many a spot to find a cool throw up and if you’re
looking for New York-style wild showcase of the power of street art then look
no further than Leake street.
Famous as “the Banksy
Tunnel” and making appearances in many a street art movie, most notably Exit
Through the Gift shop, it is a mecca for street artists and on a sunny weekend
you could easily find at least one artist chilling out with some beer and
paint. And why not? Spaces such as these are valuable for the well being of the
nation and artists need a place to express their creativity in public.
We’ve been on many
occasions and every time we’re in London we make a point to check out the site
and take as many shots as our copious memory card will allow. We’ve seen graf
in many places but Leake street is just that bit special. It’s a place that
serves as a cut through to the station area and an art gallery. If you walked
through an art gallery every day on the way to the office your life would
benefit immensely and as such it’s a magic place.
We’ve always said that there’s nothing better than the smell of paint and the tunnel setting is perfect for that. Sure, the odd car speeds through on occasion, the car wash does good business – and what a place to work it must be when it’s time for lunch. Coffee over a walk along the tunnels extensive collection of work from global artists is surely the ultimate lunch experience in art terms.
We’ve always said that there’s nothing better than the smell of paint and the tunnel setting is perfect for that. Sure, the odd car speeds through on occasion, the car wash does good business – and what a place to work it must be when it’s time for lunch. Coffee over a walk along the tunnels extensive collection of work from global artists is surely the ultimate lunch experience in art terms.
Our last visit was on
an overcast yet typically hot day in London – in the early morning of a very
sleepy weekend. En route to another gallery we decided to check out a real
street art gallery, with walls to spare and a variety of styles that is more
usually seen at festivals than on the streets.
Needless to say,
Leake Street did not disappoint and with a coffee in hand and a camera in full
flow we began the pure pleasure of shooting this utterly unique venue. There
was even a writer on the scene creating some cool pieces and it was nice to see
an active spot keeping it’s rep for change. No visit to the oft-called Banksy
Tunnel is ever the same and if you’ve never been down then check it out asap!