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Artwork by Blek le Rat at the Cans Festival, Leake Street, Waterloo. Blek le Rat, born Xavier Prou in Paris in 1952, is known as the 'Godfather' of stencilled street art because of his influence on today's graffiti and guerilla art movements. He began in 1981 spraying an invasion of rats across Paris because "rats are the only free animals in the city and that they are feared by humankind". By 1991 he was encountering legal problems because of anti-graffiti laws and was made to pay fines for 10 years of graffiti. As a result Blek no longer paints on walls, to avoid being jailed, but produces posters which he describes as 'less dangerous' (in France, you can now be fined up to 50,000 euros for graffiti). These artworks are usually politically-charged, featuring controversial images commenting on famine, propoganda and anti-war campaigns. Digital image of 7th May 2008. From the Graffiti Gallery recording Lambeth's urban art.

Details
Collection:
Image type:	Digital
Artist:	Norman
Ref:	08669
Identifier:	D88/49
Date:	2008

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