Sleepy Head

It was a tiring, long morning. I want to get home and rest a bit so I walk briskly along the Thames. The fresh river air caresses my face as I walk under a bridge.

The first thing I notice is a brick wall covered in graffiti. Beautiful colours and images greet me. The man who I think is the artist stands before it with other works on paper laid conscientiously at his feet on the floor.

I am feeling confident and so strike up a conversation: ”Wow, did you do that graffiti?” He calmly replied back “no no, that’s someone else but I make these.”

As briskly as my walking my attention quickly darted to his work.

A5 pieces of paper. Some were collages, others with his own spray paint. They were well composed and diverse, yet like with many pieces of pop art there was a repetitive theme: his signature character- a graffiti/pop art style figure. “Oh I like these ones.” I say. “Yeah that’s Sleepy Head.” he replies with a slight yet warm smile.

We continued our conversation. This street artist who is known simply as Sleepy, logs people’s dreams…or nightmares and then creates spray painted works and collages based on this. What a unique and interesting art-form.

The pieces are beautiful; they have the repetitive theme like Warhol and Banksy but with a layer of depth and charm. Any contemporary art fan would appreciate this style and composition. It bares the main themes of street art but in a far more unique and quite frankly deeper way. Yes, many times the point of pop or street art is not to be deep but in fact to be the opposite. I found Sleepy’s work a very cool in-between on the spectrum.

“I’ll go for that one” I decided at that moment. “How much do they cost?” He surprisingly says “pay whatever you like.” I think for a moment and then pay the man. Happy with my investment I walk on to my home with the art in hand. 

It now hangs framed above my desk.