General Information

The part of Regent’s Canal which runs through Camden “exhibits” several notable pieces of London street art. In 2009 this stretch of canal took on special relevance after it became the site of a battle of wit and ego between the two top street-artists – Banksy and an old-time graffiti artist called Robbo.

Additional Information

Regent’s Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in East London. The canal is 13,8 kilometres long.

The Graffiti Battle: Highlights

In 1985 King Robbo painted a large, full colour graffiti piece called Robbo Incorporated on a wall beside Regent’s Canal in Camden, which was only accessible by water. Over the years it became degraded. In 2009 a stencil artist, allegedly Banksy, covered most of it with a stencil of a workman pasting wallpaper.

The Graffiti Battle: Explained

On Christmas Day 2009 Robbo destroyed Banksy’s piece by covering the work so the workman appeared to be painting King Robbo in silver letters. Three days later the letters “FUC” appeared before the King. Tit-for-tat overpainting continued at the site with artwork and insults including a picture of Top Cat leaning on a gravestone with the words “R.I.P. Banksy’s career”. This incident led to online outrage against Banksy and a graffiti war with many of Banksy’s other works being altered by “Team Robbo” – notable ones including the piece Hitchhiker to Anywhere in which the “anywhere” was changed to “going nowhere”.