Urban Art Association

A love letter to London in 2011 and Stik's Single Mum, by lojo on Jan 21, 2022 20:29:02 GMT 1, It's been almost 11 years (March 2011) since Stik's show at Subway Gallery in London. I was there and got a print of "Single Mum," which I still have and display proudly. I've been meaning to share what I remember about it, as well as my general recollections of street art at that time in London, which you'll note I have fond memories of.

I was an American college student studying abroad in London that semester, and I was really interested in the London street art scene. I saw so much stuff on walls that I doubt still exists today—fresh works by ROA (some just a few hours old), 





old stuff by Banksy (ATM machine, rats, Choose Your Weapon which had just gone up and was protected by plexiglass, funnily enough I went to check out the sperm swimming towards a red fire bell the DAY after it was posted on his website and it had already been wrenched off the wall), 




so much Eine, 

so much Sweet Toof, so much Dscreet, so much Invader, so much Osch. You get the picture. Back then, there were websites that geo-tagged street art, and I would just pick a piece that I wanted to see, take the bus to that spot, and inevitably stumble upon 20 more walls of stuff. It was a really amazing way to explore a new city, and one that was just teeming with creativity.

The first Stik piece I saw was in Brick Lane--a couple holding hands, one in a niqab. At first, I wasn't all that blown away by his stuff; it felt too simple, especially when I was chasing down all the Banksy I could. It was also right next to a big crane bird that Roa had put up, alongside some Dscreet and Pure Evil, and I was more into those aesthetics. But as I spent more time exploring London, the sheer volume of Stik's stuff—everywhere I went I found his figures—started to change my mind, and I ended up really digging his work. I even found some Stik stuff on abadoned wood, just getting wet and sitting there, in a parking lot. The clean lines, the site-specificity of his figures. I found it really beautiful.




My program was focused on British literature and theater, and we would go see plays as a program. The opening night of Stik's show at Subway Gallery, we were scheduled to see a Gilbert and Sullivan musical. I knew that I wanted to go to Stik's show, so I convinced the program director to let me buy a ticket for an earlier night of the musical so that I could go to the Stik show instead that night.

I took the bus from where we were living in Bedford Square to Joe Strummer Subway, an abandoned subway station that housed Subway Gallery where the show was. It was advertised that Stik would be doing a live painting on opening, and he had just finished it when I walked into the station. It really was an abandoned subway station, a large expanse of pavement and walls now glowing with Stik's handiwork. I remember not exactly knowing what Stik looked like, but before long I figured it was the guy with a stick figure on his orange, torn-up t-shirt, wearing sunglasses. As he walked around, people took note and would talk to him, so I figured--hey that must be him.



I went into the glass-enclosed space where most of the people were—there were Artist Proofs of Single Mum in 5 different colors, as well as the original Single Mum on canvas. There were also framed photos of some of Stik's popular work in London that I had seen in the months I had been walking the city. On the outside of the space were small canvases Stik was selling, I think for 35 pounds apiece, that had small figures on them. There were also back-lit "light boxes" with Stik figures on them for sale. I wonder where all these pieces are these days. (You can see more pictures from the show here: streetartnews.net/2011/03/stik-single-solo-show-opening-coverage.html)

I got my Single Mum print and bought it quickly, for 75 pounds. Each was sitting in a cardboard tube, each just kind of stood up on-end on the ground. If I remember, I told the person in charge of purchases I wanted one, she asked if I had a preference for which number I got (out of 50), I told her the number I wanted (my lucky number, no care for if it was the lowest available), and she drew up the certificate of authenticity. The prints were kinda sitting there, there wasn't a mad rush or anything--I think at that time 75 pounds was kinda steep for a print of his. The remaining stock that wasn't sold that night (and much wasn't sold) was put up for purchase on the Squarity website the next day. Anyway, I hung around for a little bit with the tube under my arm—I wasn't really up for socializing with anyone there, so I got back on the bus with print and returned home.

A couple days (maybe weeks) later, I found out that the print I had (and maybe others?) didn't have the Squarity embossment (who I think produced the print), so I was in email contact with someone from Squarity to rectify it. If I remember correctly, we were gonna meet at a park or somewhere so they could quickly emboss it and certify its legitimacy. For one reason or another, it fell through, so I never did get the embossment. But I do have two certificates of authenticity, and the print itself, so I figure that's enough.

Since then, I've watched with admiration as interest in Stik has skyrocketed, including his book and other commissions. I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time, and with the right judgment to pick up Single Mum as a memento of my time in London. If only I had had the foresight to shell out just a few thousand dollars for some signed Banksy prints at Stolen Space! Honestly, Single Mum means more to me as a time capsule to that moment of my life when I was young and a city-explorer and life was a mystery, than as a handful of cash. I will admit that seeing its price go up has been a pleasant surprise. I love the piece and hope I can keep it for a long time.

It's been almost 11 years (March 2011) since Stik's show at Subway Gallery in London. I was there and got a print of "Single Mum," which I still have and display proudly. I've been meaning to share what I remember about it, as well as my general recollections of street art at that time in London, which you'll note I have fond memories of.

I was an American college student studying abroad in London that semester, and I was really interested in the London street art scene. I saw so much stuff on walls that I doubt still exists today—fresh works by ROA (some just a few hours old), 





old stuff by Banksy (ATM machine, rats, Choose Your Weapon which had just gone up and was protected by plexiglass, funnily enough I went to check out the sperm swimming towards a red fire bell the DAY after it was posted on his website and it had already been wrenched off the wall), 




so much Eine, 

so much Sweet Toof, so much Dscreet, so much Invader, so much Osch. You get the picture. Back then, there were websites that geo-tagged street art, and I would just pick a piece that I wanted to see, take the bus to that spot, and inevitably stumble upon 20 more walls of stuff. It was a really amazing way to explore a new city, and one that was just teeming with creativity.

The first Stik piece I saw was in Brick Lane--a couple holding hands, one in a niqab. At first, I wasn't all that blown away by his stuff; it felt too simple, especially when I was chasing down all the Banksy I could. It was also right next to a big crane bird that Roa had put up, alongside some Dscreet and Pure Evil, and I was more into those aesthetics. But as I spent more time exploring London, the sheer volume of Stik's stuff—everywhere I went I found his figures—started to change my mind, and I ended up really digging his work. I even found some Stik stuff on abadoned wood, just getting wet and sitting there, in a parking lot. The clean lines, the site-specificity of his figures. I found it really beautiful.




My program was focused on British literature and theater, and we would go see plays as a program. The opening night of Stik's show at Subway Gallery, we were scheduled to see a Gilbert and Sullivan musical. I knew that I wanted to go to Stik's show, so I convinced the program director to let me buy a ticket for an earlier night of the musical so that I could go to the Stik show instead that night.

I took the bus from where we were living in Bedford Square to Joe Strummer Subway, an abandoned subway station that housed Subway Gallery where the show was. It was advertised that Stik would be doing a live painting on opening, and he had just finished it when I walked into the station. It really was an abandoned subway station, a large expanse of pavement and walls now glowing with Stik's handiwork. I remember not exactly knowing what Stik looked like, but before long I figured it was the guy with a stick figure on his orange, torn-up t-shirt, wearing sunglasses. As he walked around, people took note and would talk to him, so I figured--hey that must be him.



I went into the glass-enclosed space where most of the people were—there were Artist Proofs of Single Mum in 5 different colors, as well as the original Single Mum on canvas. There were also framed photos of some of Stik's popular work in London that I had seen in the months I had been walking the city. On the outside of the space were small canvases Stik was selling, I think for 35 pounds apiece, that had small figures on them. There were also back-lit "light boxes" with Stik figures on them for sale. I wonder where all these pieces are these days. (You can see more pictures from the show here: streetartnews.net/2011/03/stik-single-solo-show-opening-coverage.html)

I got my Single Mum print and bought it quickly, for 75 pounds. Each was sitting in a cardboard tube, each just kind of stood up on-end on the ground. If I remember, I told the person in charge of purchases I wanted one, she asked if I had a preference for which number I got (out of 50), I told her the number I wanted (my lucky number, no care for if it was the lowest available), and she drew up the certificate of authenticity. The prints were kinda sitting there, there wasn't a mad rush or anything--I think at that time 75 pounds was kinda steep for a print of his. The remaining stock that wasn't sold that night (and much wasn't sold) was put up for purchase on the Squarity website the next day. Anyway, I hung around for a little bit with the tube under my arm—I wasn't really up for socializing with anyone there, so I got back on the bus with print and returned home.

A couple days (maybe weeks) later, I found out that the print I had (and maybe others?) didn't have the Squarity embossment (who I think produced the print), so I was in email contact with someone from Squarity to rectify it. If I remember correctly, we were gonna meet at a park or somewhere so they could quickly emboss it and certify its legitimacy. For one reason or another, it fell through, so I never did get the embossment. But I do have two certificates of authenticity, and the print itself, so I figure that's enough.

Since then, I've watched with admiration as interest in Stik has skyrocketed, including his book and other commissions. I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time, and with the right judgment to pick up Single Mum as a memento of my time in London. If only I had had the foresight to shell out just a few thousand dollars for some signed Banksy prints at Stolen Space! Honestly, Single Mum means more to me as a time capsule to that moment of my life when I was young and a city-explorer and life was a mystery, than as a handful of cash. I will admit that seeing its price go up has been a pleasant surprise. I love the piece and hope I can keep it for a long time.