a few of shots from a recent meander around Brick Lane, London’s main graffiti hot spot.

There are few traces of its period as a Jewish quarter (unless you count the 2 fabulous bagel shops though they are not kosher), though the older signs of its Huguenot past are evident in style of the silk-weavers’ houses in the streets running off the Lane. The lower half of the Lane, a riot of Bangladeshi restaurants and shops, is interesting though the restaurant touts can be annoying.

The graffiti trend is new, just a few years old. Much of it is done with permission and is organized by middlemen hoping to at some point cash in in by discovering in the next Banksy. I think the trend will pass. There is little genuine artistry is this stuff. When you see something really good it stands out (for me that’s the bottom tow pieces), but most of what fills the street is not impressive.