Street art is about much more than just art. If you’re only interested in the exhibition worthy, go to a gallery, lord knows there are plenty of them.

Street art is the difference between buying a broadsheet and trawling the blogosphere. You know you should prefer the insightful commentary of the professional wordsmiths but sometimes shouty rants and wild conspiracy theories are just much more entertaining.

Take Time Out's walking tour if you want to but remember this: as fortune favours the brave so street art rewards those who keep their eyes peeled. We recommend looking up and taking it where you can. Be bold and detour down that alleyway sometime, you may strike visual gold.

Sure, lots of what you see will be rough and seemingly insignificant. But every picture is a peek inside the mind of somebody. Whether you see an incoherent mess, a stark truth or a startling vision probably says as much about you as it does about them.

The best street art is dark and irreverent and currently the best place to see it is Blackall Street. It is hardly visible as you enter the street but as you traverse its length you’ll find that the recesses in the brick work contain panel upon panel of art. It’s jumbled and messy, messages are hard to decipher and everything competes for your attention but the imagery is lucid, original and a lot scarier then Eine’s famous ‘Scary’ that sits outside of Cargo. Round the corner on Willow Street is the enormous man & cow mural – make of it what you will. Right now, if you want street art in Shoreditch, this is where it’s at.

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