Lockdown street art from my neighbourhood around Brick Lane
These 68 images were taken in the Brick Lane area of London during the COVID-19 lockdown between March and June 2020. I started to take the photos with my smartphone while on my daily neighbourhood walk. I realised that on the deserted streets these were a way in which some people could still convey their thoughts and feelings to me. I have included street art that appeared only during that period and that specifically responded to our psychological, emotional and physical journey though lockdown. The images range from artworks made in situ, pre-printed posters, and the graffiti reactions of local people. Some of this transitory street art has already disappeared.
Brexit was at the front and centre of the UK's collective consciousness before the virus started to grip Britain. The first artwork I noticed, when social distancing was being encouraged but before a lockdown was announced, suggested parallels between Brexit and the COVID-19, with Britons running into 'voluntary self-isolation'.
‘Voluntary self-isolation’ at the junction of Brick Lane and Quaker Street. Subdude
On 14 March, UK retailers released a joint letter asking customers not to panic buy products after supermarkets started to sell out of some items. Posters criticised the hoarders of toilet rolls, while some local shops tried to capitalise, with their tongues firmly in their cheeks.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council announced on 22 March that more than 5,600 former nurses had registered to serve in the fight against the coronavirus. Lord Kitchener's famous recruitment drive for the First World War was invoked in posters around The Royal London Hospital campus, encouraging medical students to join the front line.
‘Isolation’ adjacent to the citizenM Hotel on Holywell Lane.
In a televised address to the nation on 23 March, Boris Johnson announced a UK-wide lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. The British public were instructed to stay at home, except for certain "very limited purposes": shopping for basic necessities; for "one form of exercise a day"; for any medical need; and to travel to and from work when "absolutely necessary". Street artists highlighted the foreboding that many now felt.
The lockdown came into force on 26 March. On the same day at 8pm, millions of people around the country joined in the first "Clap for Carers" tribute, applauding NHS staff, carers and key workers. There was an outpouring of goodwill and social solidarity. Volunteers registering on the GoodSAM app passed the 750,000 mark, three times the government's original target. Street art started to reflect our mix of feelings and inner thoughts: ‘anxious and vulnerable’, ‘staying positive’, ‘kindness’, and ‘keep calm’.
On 5 April, The Queen made a television broadcast to the UK and the wider Commonwealth for only the fifth time during her reign. In the address she thanked people for following the government's social distancing rules, and paid tribute to key workers. She said the UK "will succeed" in its fight against coronavirus but may have "more still to endure", before promising that “we will meet again”. Shortly after, a black and white photo montage showed The Queen with her head in her hands. The sovereign’s address was echoed by posters all around Shoreditch imploring us to 'please believe these days will pass'.
Throughout this period there was an outpouring of support and love for the NHS, and concern for the safety and well-being of its staff.
The number of deaths reported each day increased steeply in late March and early April. A subsequent analysis by ‘The Guardian’ of official figures revealed that 8 April was the worst day, with 1445 deaths as the country prepared for Easter under lockdown. Two days later, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced in the UK Government's daily briefing that a "Herculean effort" was being made to ensure daily deliveries of personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline workers. But a network of volunteers across the country were making scrubs and visors for their local NHS to make up for shortages in the official supply chain. On 18 April, unions representing doctors and nurses expressed their concern at a change in government guidelines to allow medics to reuse gowns or wear other kit if stocks ran low. The street art reflected the widespread frustration about the PPE shortages, and alarm in particular at the number of health care workers who were being infected and dying of the virus.
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There was an increasing sense that what was being communicated to the public at the UK Government's daily briefing was at odds with what people were experiencing on the ground. The ‘Stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives’ graphic at the heart of the Government’s campaign was reinterpreted by street artists to create new three-part slogans which reflected people’s frustration and growing disillusionment with official advice.
The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was discharged from hospital on 12 April after being treated in intensive care for COVID-19, and he continued his recuperation at Chequers. Criticisms of the Government’s performance were muted during his illness, but they grew in volume again after his recovery. Street artists reminded us that Conservative MPs voted against a Queen’s speech amendment in June 2017 calling on them to lift a cap on pay rises for public sector workers, including nurses who had subsequently helped to save the Prime Minister’s life.
The Chancellor had announced emergency schemes to provide financial support to businesses, and by early April there was a growing sense that the biggest financial hardships were being disproportionately experienced by ordinary people and not big businesses. Posters calling for a redistribution of wealth appeared next to others that raised questions about who was paying the highest price due to the lockdown.
Over the last three weeks of April, Captain Tom Moore became a household name. His fundraising 'Walk for the NHS' raised over £30m by the time of his 100th birthday on 30 April. He was described as “a National Treasure”, and soon became Colonel Sir Tom. He was also credited with single handedly funding the NHS.
In times of crisis, conspiracy theories can spread as fast as a virus and social media was awash with bogus claims. On 1 May, Facebook deleted the account of David Icke for posting misinformation about COVID-19, including the bizarre theory that the pandemic was linked to 5G. Handwritten messages on walls and posters put forward other conspiracy theories: 'covid isn't real' and 'corona [is the] greatest lie since 911'.
Changing guidance from the World Health Organisation the UK authorities meant that wearing something over your own face or seeing other people with masks became an everyday experience. Oddly it was usually women who were shown wearing masks in street art.
On 23 April, the US President, Donald Trump, speculated at a White House briefing that disinfectant could be used to treat people with COVID-19. His comments were ridiculed by people all around the world, including local street artists.
A joint investigation by the ‘Daily Mirror’ and ‘The Guardian’ revealed on 23 May that Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson's chief political adviser, had travelled 260 miles from London to Durham to self-isolate during lockdown. He confirmed reports that he had also taken a trip to Barnard Castle but told journalists that "I don't regret what I did" during a detailed account of his actions at a press conference in the Downing Street Rose Garden on 25 May. There was deep anger that Mr Cummings’s had not followed the ‘spirit of the law’ and a widespread belief that he had undermined the sacrifices that had been made by people who had followed the rules.
May rolled into June and Britain began to slowly emerge from the lockdown. Street artists turned their attention to societal changes during the pandemic, including the rapid adoption of technology, while still acknowledging the existential threat of deadly viruses. They yearned for 'new normal' after COVID-19 and a fundamental shift in how we live on our planet and in our communities.
The copyright and moral rights of these artworks remain with the artists and their representatives. Please follow the ‘Contact’ link if you would like me to add, delete or amend any blog content relating to the street art.
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