Governors, Duo's, Lone-wolfs - Graf Storytellers of old London Town

Here are some of my picks from the Killa Kela podcast.

This is a selection of my favourite characters behind some of the biggest tags, from the 80s and 90s London scenes. The Char and Steam interviews are particular jewels. 

They tell childhood stories, growing up in a different era of London, as well as tales of missions and danger, memories of names and locations that interweave to form part of the rich tapestry that is London graffiti folklore.

 

Propagation Power

From the marvellous 'Wonders of Creation' from Lion Publishing 1975          '
This spread shows the ingenious methods plants have evolved to disperse their seeds far and wide, increasing their chances of reproduction.  

New Lewisham Natureman Sighting 2017

Its been a few years since we at Wildcornerz have received any news of sightings of Lewisham's lone stag. He seemed to had vanished from the borough, along with the rapid decline of the wild places he inhabits. 

Until yesterday. As we drove back south from the Blackwall tunnel I spotted a fleeting dash of white against an old wall, in a small wildcorner

 just beyond the boroughs borders in Charlton.

It was him, the Wild Walker - deer spirit, aka the Lewisham Natureman, 

moving quickly and silent across the nettles and creeping buttercup's.

Catch him before he's gone again.

Wildcornerz Merch is Here!

I have started my very own t-shirt label; Cornerz.

Heres is the first design printed up and available to buy. 

'Fantasy Chicken'

This design is inspired by the capitals various chicken shop signage. The majority of these are created by sign maker Morris Casanova aka 'Mr Chicken'.

http://cornerzclothing.bigcartel.com/product/fantasy-chicken

HMP A Survival Guide

This is the essential survival guide to the UK's prison system, written by an anonymous ex inmate. This witty, detailed guide, provides useful wing-wise info for prospective inmates and interesting reading for the rest of us.
.. oh and he is rumoured to be an ex infamous London graffer.
Here.

Catford Corner, Summer 2013

I finally managed to find my pictures of the 'Wild Walker' spirit taken in 2013. 

The corner was originally one entrance to Catford dog track. It is cut off at either side by the train lines of Catford Station on the West and Catford Bridge Station and also the river Ravensbourne on the East.

Earlier that summer it was briefly home to a group of travelers before they were evicted by the owners of the land, the GLA. They sold the land to Barratt Homes who have since built luxury style apartments on the site.

 The spirit of the Lewisham Natureman appears on an old container at the far end, standing tall, head back and howling. 

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/10679388.Pictured__Traveller_caravans_leaving_Catford_near_former_Catford_Greyhound_stadium/

Lewisham's Wild Walker spotted again in Ladywell SE13

Spotted him early last week from the top deck of the 185 and managed to catch these pictures on my phone.

Lewisham's deer spirit appears at the back of a fresh gap of land, where Ladywell Leisure Centre used to be.

He stands between two Silver Birch trees in the wildest corner of this young wild corner, where the ground was spared from the bulldozer and vegetation grows. 

His head is turned towards us.

UK Graff Videos Doc's of the Past

'Tags' Graffiti vid doc, featuring 1980s/90s London Graff


'Graffiti Wars' [Sheffield Graff Doc]


'Bombing' 1987 Documentary about Graff and Hip Hop culture in Briton.


'Writers' London Graffiti 1990s

A few awkward moments there, in the meeting about the commission..
"Play it cool Rodders, .. play it cool son!"

'Colourful Barz' - Train writers Skam, Skream and Nois of FDC and JKS crews. Josh Piehl talks about his sentencing and prison experience.

Lewisham's very own White Stag Spotted in Deptford.

The stag spectre can be glimpsed over the wall from Deptford Church St. The area is located in the north of the borough, just within the boundary line.  

He appears to be sharpening his antlers on the grounds of an abandoned building. The building was originally a slaughter house and then in later years, a factory and mechanics. While lying empty it got used to house local squat parties. 

 Tags cover the walls, both younger and older strains here together. 

'Ask' 'Dowt' 'Plank' 'Jets' 'Esko' 'Mood' 'Drape' 'Oie'. 

The ground has been dug out and wooden structures are built against trees to form bike and board ramps.

Some press and net cuttings on Lewisham's white deer

{The Telegraph}

{Curriculum Enrichment magazine}

(Lib Dem's magazine 'In focus')

Here are a collection of some newspaper cuttings and web articles on The Lewisham Natureman from earlier in the year. The press coverage was sparked from liberal democrat councillor Cllr Chris Maines campaign to save the mural on Cressingham road. This has been already painted on and can be seen in the press pictures. [Notice the black paint over the mouth of the deer and over some of the background.]

In all these articles The Lewisham Natureman is spoken of as the name of the artist and not of the stag spirit itself.  Some have also reported the deer, as different members of a heard rather than the same solo spectre.

Not much is known about the stag or who created it but we do know [by looking at the writing underneath the mural piece on Cressingham road] is that it is some kind of tribute to the Lewisham Natureman and not made by 'him'. 

This is a name already know to us at Wildcornerz through our research and documentation of South East Londons' derelict gaps. The Lewisham Natureman was the name attached to a small carved symbol of a crown [in the same style as the boroughs logo] with a dandy-lion growing through it, though some report it as a Thistle or a Daisy. 

This tiny symbol was found in various wastelands and wild spots around the borough of Lewisham from the late 1970s to the end of the century. Sometimes they would be accompanied by a date and would normally be hidden away.

Due to their mystery, they became the subject of many urban legends amongst local children who would play in these wild corners. The basis of the myth / legend links the symbols directly to the wild places they were found and suggest their maker is some kind of shamon or wild man who lives in or uses them. Other versions describe him more as a 'spirit of wild nature', a 'familiar' to the weeds who helps them to grow and protects the wild corner.

The myth was also know to some in other communities that use these spaces, such as the local graffiti crews, travellers, urban fishers, the homeless and street drinkers. Fences are jumped and bars are bent to access these cracks and corners of the city. These fringe communities of London can still be found using these 'wastelands' spaces no matter how temporary the stay. Some of these would have used what was know as Common land centuries ago and the many bomb sites and edgelands around London in the last century. Now even these gaps; 'commercial wastelands' / 'brownfield sites' are becoming increasingly more transitory, due to the London Assembly's current building strategy for the capital. The core idea being to build on land within the city, rather than expanding further out.   

The deers are not signed and maybe their maker is not what is important.

We at Wildcornerz like to believe the stag is the Lewisham Natureman, in animal form; an embodiment of this same spirit of wild places in Lewisham.   

Besson St. SE14, Wildcorner Exploration

Besson St. Wildcorner Exploration, a set on Flickr.

These photographs are were taken from several explorations over the Summer, to the wild corner on Briant and Besson Street. A large corner where a former council estate once stood. Years ago the corner was viewable from the top deck of the 171 which used to pass by. Since the redirection of that bus the corner is not viewable from the street at all and is now only overlooked by a small number of flats.

 Specimen samples of flora and fourna from the site have been collected.

Notables things including an old known tag, Kist, 'Goodbye Charlie Bright', Broke, Badcat, Moral, Norf, Elmo, Eek, evidence of a traveller camp, a small temporary shelter with bedding inside, high hills of rubble covered with thick buddhlia bushes and a most special sighting of Lewisham's very own white deer.