Join Made in Shoreditch in a unique street tour to discover Paul Don Smith urban portraits.
Shoreditch wouldn’t be the same without its graffiti and the unconventional artistic soul filling the air. Paul DON Smith is currently one of the most popular street artists in activity and his artworks are everywhere in East London. He works mainly with stencil portraying popular characters from TV, music, cinema and sport, but also paying homage to classic art.
Mona Lisa Smile – A beautiful re-interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece Mona Lisa painted by DON decorates a wall on Great Eastern Street. The artwork was done during the street art exhibition ‘Urban Masters’ in November 2012. Completed with the landmarks of London at the top and the one of Paris at the bottom, the artwork was dedicated to the French artist Blek le Rat, father of stencil graffiti.
Music and Movie Stars – In Brick Lane pedestrians can admire a colourful portrait of Paul Weller, the iconic protagonist of the British punk scene. The singer and songwriter played with the punk rock band ‘The Jam’ from the late 1970s to the early 1980s and was represented by DON for the fundamental contribution given to beat music and new wave. Another calebrity painted by the stencil artist is the comedian David Jason who dressed the part of’ ‘Del Boy’ in the BBC TV show ‘Only Fools And Horses’. The actor popularised the expression ‘Lovely Jubbly’ which is stated at the bottom of the artwork. Also the Hollywood star Elisabeth Taylor was portrayed by DON on a wooden board of the popular East London street. With her unique violet eyes and irresistible red lips the actress keeps on charming Londoners an tourists passing through Brick Lane market. The Union Jack and the American flag completing the work represent the origins of the unforgettable performer born in London to American parents.
Olympic and Charity Champions – Another breathtaking stencil artwork was painted by DON in Hanbury street at the end of 2012. The Olympics heroes Jessica Ennis and Bradley Wiggins, Zaki-Dee – in anti-gas mask – and the popular actor Ewan McGregor are painted one next to each other on a real street art masterpiece. The term ‘Cold chain’, written under the Scottish actor portrait, refers to a humanitarian mission the interpreter of Trainspotting embarked to deliver vaccines to the world’s most isolated children. On the same wall the artist represented also a beautiful crying queen and a vessel with the Anti-Slavery International logo showing his interest to social topics and his support to important causes such as the respect of the human rights.
