BSA contributor and urban explorer Garry Hunter just stumbled willingly into an alley in London where Street Artists ROA and Phlegm had transformed the walls and he shares his experience here with us, along with some images of the work.

By New York standards, London snowstorms are occasional and fleeting, with this winter’s first carpet of white disappearing within 48 hours. This window of opportunity on a rare warm day prompted a trip to South East London, ancient habitat of second hand car dealers and purveyors of stolen goods. Peckham is off the Tube line, but an over ground artery to Kent allows quick access from Central London. It is very close to this Rye station where there lies an unassuming dark alley that opens out into a plethora of monochrome masterworks.

Modern Flemish master ROA has decorated four walls of an industrial yard with Gothic bird skulls, while the remaining doorways, loading bays and other brick surfaces show an entangled narrative of dark materials by Sheffield-based Phlegm. These hidden gems were only made fully accessible by the serendipitous arrival of a resident in the adjoining apartment, who had keys to the barred gate of the yard.

As I leave back through the tunnel to the High Street, my head spinning with intense imagery, the waft of goat curry mingles with odors from an Arabic tea-stall, the hawker’s call and the loud strains of passing London buses. Back to reality, cheap shops selling tat and the predictable chain stores of an English high street; an identity being crushed by corporate greed.

ROA (photo © Garry Hunter)

ROA (photo © Garry Hunter)

ROA (photo © Garry Hunter)

Phlegm (photo © Garry Hunter)

Phlegm (photo © Garry Hunter)

Phlegm (photo © Garry Hunter)

Phlegm (photo © Garry Hunter)

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