London: Tea Time in Wonderland

I step out of the Edgware Rd tube station, a little lost. The address indicates Pedestrian Subway. Hmmm. I look around. At the corner of the street, a path declines into the ground then under the road, must be it.

Completely deserted -  and it’s rush hour. I almost expect to see tumbletweeds rolling by!

And there, in the middle of the corridor is the oh-so-tiny Subway Gallery. Angular lines. Neon effect of the electric lights. Previously a kiosk of the 1960ies, it looks more like an extraterrial object!

What are you here for? Stik’s show. If you are a Shoreditch fan, you are familiar with his characters, made of 6 simple lines. I always think they must be easy to draw but never succeed to give them the same tenderness… It all comes from a detail in the way they stand, a slight sense of movement, the exact angle of the head… They put cheerfulness back in the day.

Their humanity may come from the artist’s experience  – he was homeless a number of years. Now back on track, he also works with councils and councils on graffiti workshops, liaises with St Martin’s centre on dialogue through graffiti. No vandalism – each of his pieces in East London have been authorised. An ethic in a street artist that makes him look even more fantastic.

I arrived just a few minutes too late and could only see the room through the glass windows.

But no matter at which time you walk by – enjoy the blue mural on the side of the corridor!

Subway Gallery
Stik – until March 26, 2011
Kiosk 1, Pedestrain Subway
Edgware rd/Harrow Rd London
W2 1DX
Free

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