The streets of the East End of London, and particularity those around Brick Lane and Spitalfields, are a positive magnet for street artists and almost every square inch of every wall boasts impressive examples of urban street art.
Of course, this is the area where the Jack the Ripper murders occurred in 1888 and, since he is such an iconic figure in the neighbourhood – and, for that matter, far beyond the neighbourhood – inevitably he has found himself an a subject for depiction by several of the artists who have made the East End streets their art gallery.
So, in today’s blog, I thought I’d feature several of those images that depict the ripper, several of which we pass on your nightly London tour of the area.
So, here goes.
WHAT TIME IS IT NOW?
This figure, which can be found on the wall at the north end of Hanbury Street. shows a figure that, although it doesn’t set out to say it’s Jack the Ripper, it certainly makes use of the tip hat and the black bag that are, often, essential items of his apparel in films and comic books.
TOP HAT AND MASK
Again, although not overtly a depiction of the infamous serial killer, this white beaked figure, which can be seen atop a wall in the eastern section of Hanbury Street, still wears the top hat.
JACK DOES PHILOSOPHY
Another wall image from Hanbury Street, this time from its western section, showing the figure in its top hat and with its bag, whilst observing that “YOU SEE YOURSELF IN EVERYTHING, AS EVERYTHING SEES ITSELF IN YOU.”
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
This striking, and gigantic, image can be seen on the wall of The Bell pub in New Goulston Street. It carries the attribution to the French street artist Zabou and, according to several of his tour participants, bears an uncanny resemblance to our guide Philip Hutchinson!
