Banksy Hunt #1 – One Nation Under CCTV

I am a big fan of Banksy.

Ever since seeing his work discussed in newspapers, I’ve been keeping track of him all around the world, I have his book Wall and Piece, and my Aunt & Uncle in London often send me newspaper clippings of his newest works around the city.

Anyway, to get to the point, now that I am in the UK I am going to try and find and blog as many Banksy pieces (Banksies?) as possible. I think it’s a cool way to see different areas of the city that are potentially off of the beaten path, and hey, I get to find some work which I really admire!

Alright, here we go!

To find these pieces I consulted this map, which was very well-compiled by artofthestate.

The first piece I decided to find is called One Nation Under CCTV and is located off of Goodge Street on Newman Road. I got out of class early on this particular day and decided to go for it. I printed a map with directions and set out on my way, not knowing the painful mistakes I was about to make!

So, my first mistake was thinking that the travel time that the map provided (7 min.) was for walking and not driving. People don’t drive here as much as they do back home, so I didn’t even think of that. Damn I walked far.

The second mistake I made was thinking that all of the roads could be accessed by foot, which of course they couldn’t, or it would be a waste of time since the paths on foot would be much faster. Great!

Anyway, I wouldn’t let that get me down! So I kept on.

And on.

And then it started raining.

Good thing I brought a brolly.

I followed the directions flawlessly (I thought) and for some reason I could not find Tottenham Court Road, which I needed to find to lead me to Goodge Street. I suppose that at the time I wasn’t quite used to the road signage system in London yet.

Anyway, I was pretty wet from all of the rain and the umbrella wasn’t very big so my backpack was just drenched. It was at this point that it began to rain very, very hard.

And then when it started to thunder I caved and gave up. I was soaked and tired from walking so damn far, f*** it, I thought.

So with my head held low, I started back the way I came so I could go home and dry off, maybe have a miserable pint or something.

But then, as I was walking back I saw something. That’s Tottenham Court Road!  I had unknowingly stumbled upon the road I needed to find! Forget being soaked to the point of hypothermia, it’s on mother f***er! The hunt was still on!

After finding Tottenham Court Road, I found Goodge Street (And Goodge Street Underground Station…damn!), and then Newman Street! At this point I am very excited. A hip young chap was strolling by and I asked him if he knew what side of Newman Street the Banksy was on and he said “Urm, I fink it’s over there. Go that way, yeah?”, and so I took his advice.

Strolling down the street and coming up to an industrial building lined with razorwire, cctv and security guard booths, I found my first Banksy. 

If you’re wondering how exactly Banksy happened to stroll over a fence and put a twenty-foot painting on a wall and not get caught, read this article.

You can’t tell from the picture but this map is soaking wet! Mistakes aside, finding this was quite a thrill and I have been finding more and more, which I’ll also blog. Love it!