banana | Eyes on the Streets

Freeman Alleyis a private lane that runs parallel to the Bowery close to Sara Roosevelt Park and Bowery subway station. It has become a destination for graffiti both for those who make it and for those who want to look at it. Stencils, wheatpaste, and stickers are the most common and there is lots of it! There is probably more than one blog post’s worth so this is just the start.

below: No loitering in the alley. About to munched on – this one-eyed pink and purple banana by eye.sticker is i danger of losing part of its peel.

below: “Do you see this?” Eyes and hearts but with a tear or two.

below: Mickey Mouse crucified, and a feline love more, #nohatefamily. Something about hello mushroom in there as well.

below: “Black Lives Matter is a movement, not a moment, by Individual Activist,

below: Many faces here including a lightning struck David Bowie. In the center is an anti-war poster by Brad Heckman (aka hecksign) that features a portrait of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.

protest poster, anti-war, support Ukraine in its war

below: Another Individual Activist anti-war poster. Ukraine is not Putin’s blank canvas. On the left is a big colourful beetle by modomatic.

below: Another modomatic, this time a multicoloured mask. Sticking out on the right is a yellow arm with a pink donut and half smoked joint while a Half Brooklyn Crooklyn’s figure is running away (the last is by TheOhioGirl).

below: Another modomatic creation – insect like? Botanical?

below: “So much love” on newspaper by jkosart along with a back and white intricate drawing of a creature of some kind (signed moose)

below: A picture of a painter painting a picture, by font147

a poster by font147 of a yellow headed person painting on a large canvas and easel in front of a door and window

below: Two women – one on the Sony screen along with one as a BLM tribute by Voxx Romana

below: Mother and Child on blue

stencil graffiti, black on blue, of iconic mother and child

below: A yellow duck below an old faded poem. Once there was a bouquet of red roses but it looks like someone showed their displeasure with pink paint.

below: At the very top, a multiple-eyed face by sold out art show. The woman with the black and white flower hair has her own post on this blog – see Unleashing Flowers.

below: A period piece, black and white in sepia, from 33wallflower33,

below: Oversalted broccoli and a boxer

In case you are interested in such things, there is a gallery/shop in the alley that features the work of many of these artists.

Photos taken June 2022

Just east of Commercial street in Tower Hamlets, Shoreditch is Jerome Street, one of many little streets in the area. The old home of Godfrey Phillips Ltd, tobacco and cigarette manufacturers is at the corner of Jerome and Commercial. The lower level with the red brick and large windows is now a restaurant.

a view up Jerome street, old industrial brick buildings.

below: It’s a bird, it’s a plane…. no it’s suit wearing mallards with proper footwear. Face the Strange.

three face the strange stickers, men with mallard duck heads and wings and wearing suits, are flying

below: Go fly your kite with this cute teddy bear by unify.

a teddy bear paste up or stencil sits on the sidewalk. he is holding a kite string in his paw and the kite is above him on the wall. A green sticker says go fly your kite. The signature says unify. the word unify is written many times in the kite in different colours to make a design on the kite.

below: An assortment of stickers and paste ups. A man with Mickey Mouse ears – Magic Kingdon, Join the Club. Three of the posters are in Italian – one is mostly obscured by the skull, the one below the skull translates to “I have the memory of a goldfish” and the one above Mickey ears is a longer description of how this person can’t describe is love for another. The poetry is the work of Movimento per l’Emancipazione della Poesia.

many pieces of street art, including a man wearing mickey mouse ears, a large grinning skull in yellow and orange, and poems written on posters in Italian.

below: A tribute to Prince

a paste up street art piece in tribute to the musician Prince, his head in profile in a heart with purple accents

below: Another assortment of stickers and paste ups. Another Join the Club, Mickey mouse based paste up – this time with “Where dreams come true”. Also, more Face the Strange but instead of flying ducks, we have fruit portraits. Do men look better with grapes or oranges instead of faces? I like the matching gloves on strawberry man. Lastly, I think that’s Queen Elizabeth in the pink and blue poster, along with I made you a moron. Think of it what you will. I suspect that the Rebel Rabbet sticker was added later.

stickers and paste up street art on a metal box and wall on a street corner including 6 posters by Face the Strange where men's portraits have fruits instead of heads, orange, grapes, strawberry, banana, and apple. Two other paste ups as well.

below: Stick figures with something to say, even if it’s things like “Danger is only safe in pairs”, “Once all this was just a memory” and “You can’t paint a hen”.

black outlined stick figures with white word bubbles, two people and a dog.

below: The whole wall (fence)

brown wall with barbed wire across the top, covered with graffiti

below: Another view of the street

looking down a short narrow street with three or four storey brick buildings on either side, construction of a building at the end of the street, covered with green netting on the bottom, and white plastic on the top

below: London beach on construction hoardings

construction hoardings covered with street art, a Road closed sign is in front.

Photos taken in September 2016

Eyes on the Streets

and feets on the ground. Graffiti, street art and murals seen while wandering the streets and alleys of our colourful world.

Tag Archives: banana

a visit to Freeman Alley

Jerome Street graffiti, Shoreditch