They’ve been cropping up all over London. A giant blue pigeon. An enormous raven. A fantastically-large fox. And now, a super-sized squirrel. No blank space is safe in east London. Just like Banksy and Blek Le Rat, under the cover of darkness, street artists Boe and Irony are creating artworks on the sides of buildings for the general public to enjoy.
Who are they? Why are they doing it? And where will they strike next? Amie Mulderrig sits down with the fiercely private duo to find out.

I take it you’re trying to remain anonymous, can you explain why?
Being anonymous looks a lot more fun than being famous. Less people with zoom lenses trying to take photos of your cellulite... It’s also good for what we do to be off the radar.

How did you meet?
We both left a party early to go painting, it was clear then we had the same solid priorities. We’ve been painting pieces together for a few years now.

How long have you been graffiti artists?
Pretty sure we have never been graffiti artists. We have dabbled in street art a bit, but we steer clear of the hard stuff.

What inspires your work?
Nature, music, colour... lots of things.
 

Why have you chosen to depict animals?
Painting for the street is not like painting for a gallery show where people come to hear what you have to say. Street work gets inflicted on people whether they want to see it or not. You can’t go to extremes right up front, people close down. So you start off with something people can generally accept, like a fluffy kitten, that’s your foot in the door, then you can start actually trying to say something with the piece.

Why have you chosen these locations to exhibit your work?
We start with the location and plan a piece from there. These pieces are all about London life and people, or the culture of that area, so location is important to us.

What have the reactions been to your work?
We don’t tend to hang around once we’ve finished and ask people what they think, but as far as we can tell it’s been pretty positive so far.

Is your work making a statement, if so, what?
Explaining art is like someone explaining a joke they just told, or how a magic trick works. The explanation is always less fun than the performance. We put a lot of thought into each piece. There are meanings to them all and to the whole collaboration. Hopefully the statement comes through the work.


How do you create your art? What materials etc.All our pieces are done with spraypaint and ladders

Can you hint where you’ll strike next?
No, that would ruin the surprise.

Are you hoping to be as big as Blek le Rat or Banksy?
No, we’re just trying to do our own thing.

Do you think the general public has accepted graffiti more because of artists such as Blek le Rat or Banksy? Why?
Street art as a whole has become much more popular recently, and there’s no doubt Banksy is one of the reasons, along with a number of other artists who’ve pushed the scene forward over the years.
Banksy’s financial success has made people feel more comfortable about street art. People are cool with anything once it’s been assigned a cash value. They might not agree with the price but as long as there IS a price people feel like they’re on solid ground. It’s the priceless stuff that people find challenging. It’s easier for people to make the case that street art is a positive part of their community when talking in pence and pounds than talking in purely artistic terms.