Gabi On The Go: Nov. 6th - London: A day for the Pop Art

W AT E R L O O S T A T I O N

The day started a little late than usual because of the time change - 5 hours ahead of Toronto.

First stop was at Waterloo Station.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Waterloo_station

Waterloo station also known as London Waterloo, is a major central London railway terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth.

The station was opened in 1848 by the London and South Western Railway, and it replaced the earlier Nine Elms as it was closer to the West End. It was never designed to be a terminus, as the original intention was to continue the line towards the City of London, and consequently the station developed in a haphazard fashion, leading to difficulty finding the correct platform. The station was rebuilt in the early 20th century, opening in 1922, and included the Victory Arch over the main entrance, which commemorated World War I. Waterloo was the last London terminus to provide steam-powered services, which ended in 1967. The station was the London terminus for Eurostar international trains from 1994 until 2007, when they were transferred to St. Pancras.

Waterloo is the third busiest station in the UK, and was formerly the busiest railway station in the UK, handling 57.8 million passengers in the year to March 2023. It is also the UK's largest station in terms of floor space and has the greatest number of platforms.

I love this shot.

Two old men, quietly reading their books, side by side, in an extremely busy train station, with people running around everywhere while checking their phones.

The National Windrush Monument

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Windrush_Monument

The National Windrush Monument is a bronze sculpture by Basil Watson in London Waterloo station. The monument commemorates the British African-Caribbean immigrants who came to the United Kingdom on board HMT Empire Windrush in 1948, who were the first arrivals of what subsequently became known as the Windrush generation.

The sculpture features a family of three dressed in their Sunday best, standing upon a pile of suitcases and "surveying their new country". The monument also includes a poem by Laura Serrant titled "You Called ... and We Came".

After World War II, the British government encouraged immigration to fill labour shortages. The British Nationality Act 1948 granted the right to settle in the UK to people living in British colonies. The ship HMT Empire Windrush was in the Caribbean, repatriating airmen who had served in the Royal Air Force during the war. Reduced price fares for the return journey from the Caribbean to the UK were offered and advertised in local newspapers, and many took up the opportunity.

Although the Empire Windrush was not the first ship to arrive in the UK with migrants from the Caribbean, its arrival at Tilbury, Essex, on 22 June 1948 saw extensive media attention. The passenger list showed 1,028 passengers on board, the majority from the Caribbean. These and other migrants became known as the Windrush generation.

L E A K E S T R E E T A R C H E S

Underneath the Waterloo Station are the Leake Street Arches, a super cool graffiti area.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leake_Street

Leake Street (also known as the Banksy Tunnel) is a road tunnel in Lambeth, London where graffiti is legal and promoted despite the fact that it is against UK law on public property. The street is about 300 metres long, runs off York Road and under the platforms and tracks of Waterloo station.

The walls are decorated with graffiti, initially created during the Cans Festival organised by Banksy on 3–5 May 2008. The festival ran again on the August Bank Holiday weekend 2008.

While the Eurostar terminal was at Waterloo, the road was open for through vehicular traffic. On 14 November 2008 ownership of the road passed from Eurostar to Network Rail and through traffic was restricted to pedestrians.

Prior to the 1920s the street was known as York Street.

The art is always changing here as new artists come and do their pieces over the already existent ones.
I witnessed three new art pieces being done, while I was there.

Art in progress.

I wonder what will be here tomorrow.

Ok... Laugh, Bart, laugh!

Love this!

B A N K S Y

From the most anonymous street art, to another very famous and anonymous street artist... but in a gallery.

The Banksy Limitless in South Kensington is a collection of the most famous street artist of our time.

Charlie Brown (2004)

It's a dark satire - critiquing corruption, media culture ad loss of purity.

Lizzie Stardust

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy

Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencilling technique. His works of political and social commentary have appeared on streets, walls, and bridges throughout the world. His work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy says that he was inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist and founding member of the musical group Massive Attack.

Banksy Limitless in South Kensington

Journey through the rebellious world of Banksy at Banksy Limitless, a bold retrospective celebrating the street art icon. Explore more than 250 works, from certified originals to immersive installations, set in a striking urban-inspired space. Highlights include the interactive Infinity Room, a large-scale Phone Booth sculpture and pieces from Banksy's 2015 Dismaland, featuring a holographic installation exclusive to the London edition.

Description

Banksy Limitless transforms London’s cultural heart into the stage for a groundbreaking exhibition of the world’s most elusive and provocative street artist. Curated by experienced producers of Banksy exhibitions, this temporary showcase presents 250 works: from certified originals and rare, one-of-a-kind pieces to large-scale installations, digital works, photos, and sculptures. Visitors can admire famous highlights such as the Infinity Room, Cinderella’s Carriage, and the Grin Reaper—plus specially reproduced works created exclusively for this London event. More than an exhibition, Banksy Limitless is a cultural encounter where the raw power of street art meets the prestige of a gallery setting.

Corrupted Oil Jerry (2005)

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupted_Oil_Jerry

Corrupted Oil - Jerry, also called Crude Oil Jerry, is a 2003 artwork by graffiti artist Banksy, using stencil of a cartoon mouse character Jerry on an oil painting.

It was valued by English antiques expert and television presenter Jonty Hearnden at £150,000 in 2014, which was a rise in value of 30 times what the owner originally paid.

Royal Courts of Justice

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Courts_of_Justice_(Banksy_mural)

On 8 September 2025, the passers-by noticed a mural stencilled by street artist Banksy onto the exterior wall of the Queen's Building of the Royal Courts of Justice on Carey Street, London. He captioned it on Instagram, Royal Courts Of Justice. London. Depicting a judge attacking an unarmed protester with a gavel, the mural was seen by activists as a comment on the legal crackdown on the protest group Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. Due to the status of the Queen's Building, completed in 1968, as a Grade II listed building, the work was in the process of being removed on 9 September.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walled_Off_Hotel

The Walled Off Hotel is a boutique hotel in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. It was designed by anonymous Bristol-born artist Banksy alongside other creatives. Established in March 2017, and initially set out to only be a temporary exhibition and a word play on the Waldorf hotel chain name, the hotel has since attracted nearly 140,000 visitors, thanks in part to its location opposite the portion of the Israeli West Bank Barrier separating Bethlehem from the holy site of Rachel's Tomb.

Girl with Balloon (2002)

Girl with Balloon (also, Balloon Girl or Girl and Balloon) is a series of stencil murals around London by the graffiti artist Banksy, started in 2002. They depict a young girl with her hand extended toward a red heart-shaped balloon carried away by the wind. The locations for this work include street murals in Shoreditch and the South bank in London on the Waterloo Bridge and other murals were around London, though none remain there.

Love is in the Bin (Self-shredding Mechanism)

This was the first artwork created during a live auction, and audacious critique of the art market that later sold for a record of 18.6 million pounds!

In 2018, a framed copy of the work was shredded after being sold at auction by way of a mechanical device Banksy had hidden inside the frame. Banksy confirmed that he was responsible for the shredding and gave the altered piece a new name, Love Is in the Bin. Sotheby's said it was "the first work in history ever created during a live auction."

Bullet Proof David (2006)

Art piece from bombed walls in Ukraine.

GDP Crisis as Usual (2019)

The work satirises how political and economic turmoil has become the new normal. It's title plays on "business as usual," exposing crisis as a constant state in modern life.

Laugh Now (2003)

I guess we can substitute this money for AI.

Bomb Hugger (2003)

Dismaland Money (2015)

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismaland

Dismaland was a temporary art project organised by street artist Banksy in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. Prepared in secret, the pop-up exhibition at the Tropicana, a disused lido, was "a sinister twist on Disneyland" that opened during the weekend of 21 August 2015 and closed on 27 September 2015, 36 days later. Banksy described it as a "family theme park unsuitable for children." The aesthetic of the "bemusement park" was potentially inspired by the "Dismayland" series of paintings created by American artist Jeff Gillette, who also participated in the exhibition.

Banksy created ten new works and funded the construction of the exhibition himself. The show featured 58 artists of the 60 Banksy originally invited to participate. 4,000 tickets were available for purchase per day, priced at £3 each. It received 150,000 visitors in the five-week period it was open. After it closed, the building material for the project was repurposed as shelters for refugees in the Calais Jungle where he also added murals.

Napalm (2004)

FROM: https://banksyexplained.com/napalm-2004/

Napalm is probably one of the most poignant and striking print that Banksy created, cementing his position as one of the pioneering political contemporary artists. This artwork is a striking statement against the military-industrialist complex linking warfare with capitalism that Banksy is criticizing all along his oeuvre. More widely, this work also encapsulates a critique of the sometimes disastrous impact of colonialism, and occupation. Banksy reinvents the Pulitzer Prize-winning image of this 9-year-old girl, fleeing a napalm blast naked in fear. By wittingly adding alongside two icons of American consumer culture, Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald, the artist creates a sickening juxtaposition with the image of Kim screaming in pain from the napalm burns. Napalm comments not just on the horrors of the Vietnam war, but of the then recent US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The comparison of one of the most provocative and horrifying photographs of war with two symbols of American culture highlights the commodification of war.

B A C K T O C A M D E N

Back in the neighbourhood, I had a delicious falafel and salad plate here.

The King of Falafel is right across from the underground station.

Time for some shopping around.

Real punk life!

A small number of punks have historically gathered on the Lock Bridge in Camden, including a well-known individual known as "Zombiepunk," who charge tourists a small fee for photos. These individuals are considered part of the area's cultural history, though there have been reports of tension with authorities and a recent rise in dispersal orders in the area.