New mural on Great Eastern Street aims to blend physical and digital art

Luke Smile used spray paints for his work. Pic: Lucy Snell

Street art makes art accessible to everyone, anywhere and Shoreditch is the paradigm. The streets are filled with interesting artworks that people see on their commutes and daily walks and it was one of the locations favoured by Banksy for his early works. Now a new mural, by lettering artist and designer, Luke Smile aims to blend the physical art world with the digital one.

Smile collaborated with the online creative platform, Artlist on a new mural on Great Eastern Street in Shoreditch.

Smile spray painted three murals on the same wall, from March 11 to 16. He teamed up with Global Street Art, an award-winning street art agency, on the project.

Work in progress shot of the mural. Pic: Lucy Snell

Smile told Eastlondonlines he was “over the moon” when Artlist asked him to be involved: “I’ve always wanted to paint this wall. It was a pinch yourself moment.”

It was the first time Smile has worked with Artlist. In the past he has collaborated with brands such as Karl Lagerfeld, Barbour and Paypal.

The project aims to blend physical with digital art, as the typography will be animated and can be used as a font template on Artlist’s software.

The mural reads “Make it Move” but online, users of Artlist can download Smile’s template, type their text and experiment with colours.

Luke Smile has been painting murals professionally for around five years, he explained it was the first time one of his murals had been animated and said it “adds another level to what the public can do with [his] art”.

Smile said he is “really interested” to see what projects people make with his template, “whether it be a movie or music video”.

Shoreditch is known for its diverse street art around the neighbourhood. Danae, a local who works in the area said street art makes “boring buildings interesting” and there’s a mural right outside her office window that “inspires her”.