It’s not easy to miss Irony & Boe’s huge chihuahua artwork at the end of Chrisp Street in Poplar. But did you know there’s a Banksy hidden less than a minute away?

First let’s deal with the elephant (dog) in the room…

Irony & Boe, two separate Street Artists, installed this work in 2014 and the pair often work together on large scale projects featuring animals.

Their first as a partnership is still up in Hackney, showcasing a particular gobby-looking pigeon from 2013;

A post shared by Irony (@whoamirony) on Jan 9, 2017 at 11:09am PST

This one, in Walthamstow was only painted last week;

A post shared by Irony (@whoamirony) on Feb 23, 2017 at 11:02am PST

If you’re wondering about the meaning of a giant pampered dog in Poplar, Irony & Boe said the following in an interview with Little Observationist;

“It’s an 8-story Chihuahua of gentrification, like a middle-class Godzilla unknowingly destroying all in its path.”

I like to think it’s also a tongue-in-cheek reference to its location on the Isle of Dogs too.

But back to Banksy…

Next time you’re on the corner of Chrisp Street and East India Dock Road, if you’re looking straight at the Chihuahua then venture into the grubby car park to the right and you’ll be rewarded with an original piece from Street Art’s most notorious producer.

Painted in 2011 this was Banksy’s contribution to the phone hacking scandal, incorporating a real life tap into his stenciled scene.

Which do you prefer?

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