When I first saw the random "art is trash" tags plastered around Brick Lane, I did not think very much of the artist. I thought that the artist was ranting about the value of street art instead of trash being art, literally. One of the first pieces I saw was a collaboration with street artist 616, the "potential skateboard" below. A couple weeks or more after, I discovered a trash bag-covered bin on Brick Lane with white paint on it and a face, with the words "art is trash" (pictured below). However, the transformation came soon after with many trash sculptures being created over the summer by this artist.
Of course, he received coverage for creating art out of trash, and upon seeing his first sculptures, I was in awe. I loved the work. There's never a shortage of trash in east London, so there's always opportunity. Although, sadly, the artwork never hangs around for too long until it is taken by the council or interfered with by someone or something else. (I have 'fixed' one of these sculptures fairly recently as part of it had fallen so others could not enjoy it in its full potential.)
Unfortunately, I missed several of these and only saw the remains of them, but I have been lucky to capture a few. The artist is from Spain, and his name is Francisco de Pajaro. His work is now one of my favoruites to see around Shoreditch and Spitalfields, and it always brings a smile to my face. One of my colleagues even saw him working early one morning on the sculpture above, but I have unfortunately not seen him working.
Art Is Trash was popular last summer and autumn, and there was a new piece appearing somewhere nearly once a week. I have not seen anything new for awhile, so this post is late coming as I've managed to photograph quite a collection of the artist's work.
Although I have taken several photographs of his work, I am not able to see all of them due to the fact that they never last too long, and I visit different areas on different days when I take my lunch break; it's not really possible to cover the whole area in an hour. I've posted more examples of his work from his own blog and the blogs of others, credited. I hope you enjoy seeing a mix of his work.
For more information about the artist, visit his website at http://depajaro.blogspot.co.uk.
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