The London Police

The London Police was founded in Amsterdam in 1998 by British artists Chaz Barrisson and Bob Gibson. The project began through street interventions at a moment when Amsterdam offered an active environment for experimental mural and graffiti practices. Over time, the name developed from a loose collective identity into the established partnership associated with the work today.

The duo’s best-known figures are the LADS, round-headed characters with simple smiles, outlined in strong black line. Their apparent simplicity gives them immediate warmth and readability. Around them, intricate vehicles, buildings and mechanical cities introduce a very different kind of drawing based on perspective, density and precision.

This contrast reflects the collaboration itself. Barrisson is closely associated with the fluid character and portrait elements, while Gibson contributes complex architectural structures and imagined urban systems. Rather than separating those approaches, the work allows them to coexist within one visual world: human presence remains playful and open, even when surrounded by elaborate machinery.

Freehand execution is a defining principle. The clean lines may resemble vector graphics, but murals and paintings are built directly by hand. At large scale, this discipline becomes especially visible, as long curves and geometric structures must remain coherent across architectural surfaces.

The London Police has produced murals and exhibitions internationally, adapting its vocabulary to different cities without treating local context as a decorative backdrop. Buildings, vehicles and spatial details can shift in response to a site, while the LADS provide continuity and a recognizable social presence.

Across murals, canvas, drawings and editions, the duo creates an alternative urbanism that is energetic without becoming threatening. Humor, precision and collaboration are equally important. The work imagines cities not as anonymous systems but as shared environments animated by characters who appear curious, resilient and fundamentally at ease within complexity.