Behind the Curtain 2015: And the winner is….

Behind the Curtain: International Street Art Competition 2015 – winner announced

Late last night on 22nd October, Shoreditch Curtain, the official facebook page for the Shoreditch Art Wall announced, “Congratulations to our winners!  The judges submitted their decision and we had a 2 joint winners, Louis Gomez and perspicere.”

I’ve been looking for an official press release and there is nothing so far.  But lets look at their winning entries again.

 

Tao by Louis Gomez. Joint winner of Behind the Curtain street art competition 2015

 

Louis Gomez is from Venezuela but grew up on Rome, Italy.  This has obviously influenced his artistic voice with contemporary twist on classical art.

 

Untitled by Perspicere. Joint winner of Behind the Curtain street art competition 2015

Perspicere specialises in threadwork art installtions projects.

 

Behind the Curtain: 16 entries painted over 4 weeks by 18 artists.

On Monday I blogged a post on all the entries, Behind the Curtain: International Street Art Competition 2015

 

Behind the Curtain Street Art Competition 2015. Week 1 Artists from left to right are: Otto Schade, Zabou, Himbad, Ant Carver. (photographed 25th September 2015)

 

Behind the Curtain Street Art Competition 2015. Week 2 Artists from left to right are: Gee Street Art, Perspicere, Amara Por Dios, Pang. (photographed 3rd October 2015)

 

Behind the Curtain Street Art Competition 2015. Week 3 Artists from left to right are: Gnasher, Gomez, HmmmBates, Candy Lo. (photographed 10th October 2015)

 

Behind the Curtain Street Art Competition 2015. Week 4. Artists from left to right are: Nomad Clan, Tizerone, Furia 139, Nick Flatt and SeedsOne. (photographed 18th October 2015)

 

Behind the Curtain: My opinion on the result

My first thoughts on seeing who had won were of disappointment and surprise.  Disappointment because I thought there were far more exciting works which should have won.  And surprise on how middle of the road their choices were.

I grew up in the Fine Art world. Both my parents were trained artists at The Slade School of Art.  And I can appreciate the talent and skill in the works of both these winners.  But I ask – is this street art?  Are they works which show what street art does best?

What drew me to the world of street art were the range of styles and voices.  The influences of graffiti, graphics, illustration, cartoon and fine art to create something new. And often the artists are political too.  And I would suggest that all the other works above illustrate what I love about street art much more than the winners, talented though they undoubtedly are.

I hope the message in this choice of winners is not trying to curb the exciting energy of street art.  We need these voices speaking out. Helping us see what is around us away from conformity and branding.

However, the choice and range of artists overall has been really rewarding, as my pictures demonstrate.  So thanks for really great set of works everyone.

Behind the Curtain: candid shots and close-ups

I’ll leave you with some shots I took of the artists are work.  And close-up details on a selection of my favourite pieces from this competition.