The Wonderland Collective

An open invitation to scrawl to your heart's content.

I first came across The Wonderland Collective  after meeting Eyesaw, one of the founding members whilst taking an introductory course at East Dalston's Print Club, right in the heart of the UK's hottest graffiti art community. On the way home we passed by Black Rat Press, probably the most famous place to buy original graffiti works in the country, and even stopped to take a look at one of Banksy's latest pieces, B-Boy.

As we chatted on the tube home he told me about the collective, the members, their aims and even scribbled down a few websites to get to know their work better. Since then I've kept in touch with the collective online and have even blogged about their work a few times now.

Their art is an eclectic hybrid or self-effacing social commentary spiced with plenty of humorous jibes, all exhibited and sold as original spray can, stencil and acrylic art on canvas, as well as limited edition prints. Their first official release is Canbird by the inimitable FAKE and is available for just £85.

What's most impressive about WC is their commitment to public involvement and their engagement with society on a grand scale. They travel the country holding one and two  day graffiti art events and their last one Never Had It  at the Light Bar near Liverpool Street, was a rip roaring success.

On the 16th and 17th of May they will be doing the same in Brighton with The Beautiful and the Canned  which will be helping to raise money for a local youth centre. Some of the names involved include Snub, Agent Provocateur, Finbarr, Pure Evil, Defacto, Ben Slow, and many more.
As part of their promotions they have employed the talents of local artist Shuby to distribute paste-ups for the collective and have even commissioned 6ft high pieces by many of their artists to be displayed on bright yellow buses driving around the town, which has certainly caused a commotion!

Wonderland openly invite all those who attend their events to try their hand at graffiti art, they even provide a safe kids area with paints and materials to encourage them to do the same. WC offer an alternative vision of exactly what graffiti art does for a community, not bound by the conventions of traditional art history, the collective draw upon the inspiration of many of the street art greats such as Banksy and Obey Giant in bringing the art to the people rather than vice-versa.

Graffiti has traditionally been classed as vandalism by the moral majority, however much contemporary art is now taking its cue from the refreshingly bold and innovative stance of this particularly creative niche. With more social acceptance for the genre local government and business will surely understand the positive impact properly organized  events such as The Beautiful and the Canned can have upon society at large. Essentially, by involving those who were formerly ostracized for their involvement in the movement, in the cultural development of an area, a great deal can be saved and learned. A fine example of creativity for the people rather than for the establishment.

Wonderland have just been commissioned to contribute to a street arts project at The Royal Albert Hall, chronicling the music venue's 138 year history with a series of 10ft high murals that will cover an area of 1,125sq/m space, with a third dedicated to graffiti's urban roots. A fine example of the establishment and the street working together.

For more information on The Beautiful and the Canned visit  www.thebeautifulandthecanned.blogspot.com
See highlights of Never Had It here:  www.flickr.com/
To buy one of the 100 Canbirds contact at info@wonderlandcollective.com.
The Royal Albert Hall event is on June 22 for one day only - details at www.royalalberthall.com.

Paul Baines is a  UK lowbrow / graffiti artist.
http://paulbaines.co.uk