Urban Art Association

Im a mind reader! ;D

Well actually I am a bit psychic It can be scary sometimes I can sort of connect to peoples thoughts even if they are hundreds of miles away. Strange but true!

Remember I was the closest with my guess (psychic reading) for the last Banksy release

Yeah! he cant stand being around me ;D

news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3213004.ece

Writing's on the wall for festive season as street artists gather
By Ciar Byrne, Arts and Media Correspondent
Published: 01 December 2007

A diagram demonstrating how to dismantle a gun, a lurid scene of frantic sales shopping, a 3D nativity scene and graffiti letters warning "Nightmare" feature in an exhibition of street art which opens in east London next week, showing an alternative vision of Christmas.

The UK's leading street artists – including Rugman, D*Face, Kid Acne, Eine and Chu – are all taking part in the Alternativity exhibition, the first group show by the Stelladore collective which aims to bring urban art to a new audience.

Alternativity is the successor to Santa's Ghetto, a festive street art show that has been held in east London for the past five years, showing works by Banksy among others. The high priest of street art is not involved this year, but Steph Warren, the show's organiser, who also organised Santa's Ghetto, insists that his popularity has boosted interest in the genre. "Banksy has definitely opened the door. People are more responsive to street art than they were a few years ago," she said.

At the centre of the exhibition, which opens on Thursday at Studio 95 in Brick Lane, is an installation representing two sides to Christmas – on one hand a time for joyous celebration, on the other a miserable and lonely time for people with no homes to go to.

D*Face, who is known for his skeletons and angels' wings, has created Guns R 4 Idiots, a diagrammatic imprint of how to take apart a gun with a bullet covered in skulls in the foreground. The screen print and spraypaint on canvas is a reaction to the shooting of Rhys Jones in Liverpool last summer. D*Face said: "My studio is in Brick Lane, there's a higher rate of youths carrying guns around this area, so it has an impact on me as an artist seeing and hearing about this. I had a child this year and it changes your perspective."

Chu, who like many of the other artists in the show got into graffiti as a youth but now describes what he practises as street art, is painting a nativity scene in 3D, which people will be able to view through a stained-glass window. Inspired by the German tradition of people who can't afford to buy a nativity scene getting their children to colour paper and cut out shapes, he has also created a cut-out Christmas scene, which people will be able to buy in miniature.

Eine, who is best known for the letters he paints on shop fronts around London, is spray painting the word "nightmare" across the longest wall in the gallery, which is 110ft long. He said: "I'm quite anti this chirpy message. For a lot of people Christmas is a nightmare." The piece, which is also a reference to Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is one of six word paintings by Eine in the exhibition, based on two of his street works, the words "scary" and "vandalism", which are currently the biggest pieces of graffiti art in London.

Kid Acne, who lives and works in Sheffield, has created a set of alternative nativity figures – cut-outs of cartoon warrior women stuck on to burnt spray-paint cans. He said: "I've got old cans of paint which I've collected, which have then been burnt in a fire. I've put little characters on to the cans and built nativity scenes. They are warrior girls, unsung heroes, interacting with animals in a fantasy world."

Other artists include Twinkle Troughton, whose piece December 27th at 5am and in Britain it's the Greatest Day on Earth is a nightmarish vision of consumerism.

Alternativity, 6-10 December, Studio 95, 91 Brick Lane, E1. www.stelladore.com

Indeed she did... what a great show.

Your infinite bunny was sweet as well!

Yeah im thinking i might head up there on Sunday.

Does anyone know the hours its open?

11am to 8pm according to one of the earlier flyers.

What a great show...
Nice to hear about Stephs(?) impending trip to Santas Ghetto, I hope your trip is a safe one and that the kids really go to town with the materials you're planning on taking over! I can't wait to see the fruits of your efforts.

As for the work on display...Since the opening of SD I have had more than a passing desire to get my grubby little mitts on some work by that lovely fella I-lib... His ink drawings are so involved and are look like something from the dark side of a yellow submarine animation. I will bite the bullet soon, I can only resist for a while longer.

Unfortunately money was too tight and I had to pass, although I did grab a Beth Brown Grenade to throw at the Christmas tree.

Also... The Sickboys pieces on the gold stock - WOW.

The show was brilliant, and agree about the I-lib pieces, so intricate. Thought the Amy Winehouse "Exploitation" canvas was really good but my favourites were the glass tanks with the crazy models in (not sure who did them but would be a much better talking point then some fish in a bowl!).
Overall the show was brilliant, bit too busy when I went though and did my back in trying to get into the CEPT bit under that limbo board.
Also, heard Banksy actually dropped in and brought a few bits. Love to know what!

any pics?

would love to see if anyone has any...