Street art not to Collishaw's palate

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Mat Collishaw, a former "young British artist" whose work includes pictures of skulls punctured by bullets, has condemned the world of street art for being full of the "privileged" few who are "affecting a political consciousness".

Collishaw said he felt that the current popularity of political art – which was well represented at the Venice Biennale – was mainly created by the middle classes. He singled out street artists as some of the worst offenders.

"I tend to find that artists involved in social-conscience raising or political art generally come from backgrounds that are financially and culturally quite privileged," he said. "I'm sure a lot of their motives are genuine, although liberal guilt and the allure of radical lifestyle for the comfortable middle classes is also a factor."