Like a cartoon anvil dropped from a great height, new Shoreditch bar Far Rockaway has landed with a hefty thump thanks to the all-over urban art riot that has been visited on the interior by some select local talent.
One of the perks of opening up in an artistic East End hub is having plenty of handy decorators around, just itching for a chance to get at some blank walls. Ben Oakley Gallery and Kevin Martin of Hoxton Gallery conducted proceedings, inviting the likes of Xenz, Above, Lucas Price, Cranio, Cept and Guy Denning to create original work at the bar, although space will be devoted to a rotating collection of unknowns too. After the spray paint had settled and the brushes reholstered, what had been laid down was a visually blinding symphony of colour and styles ranging from hand-painted totem poles to innumerable yet unique skateboard decks to 100ft of brilliant neon fairground signage, courtesy of Anthony Doig. Boomboxes, retro arcade games, gig posters and skate videos complete an array of eye-dizzying pop culture references. The fairground element, as well as the bar’s name, comes from the resort in the New York borough of Queens that peaked in popularity in the late 1950s and early ’60s, but you knew that already.
