To step outside your house and not see a 10Foot tag is a rarity for anyone living in London. Once someone points it out to you, it follows you for the rest of time. In fact, if you live anywhere on the planet, you may some day see his scrawl, his dub (graff parlance for black and white bubbled letters) or his foot-shaped throw-up (a quick, signature piece). From Osaka to Orpington, Havana to Harlesden, his name is a constant patina on walls across the globe.
In London, the same could be said of his spray can-toting comrades, Tox and Fume. They’re also members of the notorious graffiti syndicate, DDS, which stands for Diabolical Dubstars, or occasionally, Doing Damage Son, in a nod to the vandalistic obsession that underpins the subculture.
Tox, to cut a long story short, was a terror in the 2000s. According to the 2023 Saatchi exhibition, Beyond the Streets, not only was his face used as the British Transport Police’s screensaver, but he’s also widely lauded as the most incarcerated king of the lines. His no-nonsense handstyle and dubs are pure London, ditching the frills seen in New York graffiti and prioritising damage and coverage over anything else. Like it or not, the geezer was (or is) productive.
Fume was long rumoured as West London’s folk villain. These days, though, he’s a father and devout Muslim. His heavy and gargantuan spray paintings were (and probably still are) a headache for any railway maintenance company. No matter how deep they clean, his work will likely never be effaced, clinging to some subterranean railway siding for time immemorial.
Old pals, the trio have joined forces on an exhibition held footsteps away from Piccadilly Circus station’s third exit. (Directions were shared via email mere hours before opening.) Entitled Long Dark Tunnel in ode to London’s underground system and Origin Unknown’s 1997 jungle classic, Valley of the Shadows, the show is set across Arts Arkade’s two floors, complete with an escalator and a set design redolent of the grubby train tracks the three have long stalked.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
