206. Stokes Croft, Canteen (2)

No self-respecting Bristol street art blogger can ignore what is probably regarded as the most Bristol Banksy of them all. The Mild Mild West still sits proudly on the wall outside the Canteen, and opposite Cosmo Sarson’s Breakdancing Jesus, in spite of attempts to vandalise it (layered irony there).

This iconic Banksy (and which ones aren’t) tells so many Bristol stories, which are really nicely captured in this 2008 article from the The Telegraph. I see this wall pretty much every day and it is special, really special. The area in which it stands is an area which has played host to several riots, the most recent of which was the ‘boycott Tesco’ riot.

So established is this piece, that it makes it into the ‘Visit Bristol’ website as a must see attraction. How things have changed from the days of rounding up and arresting Bristol street artists.

This work simply has to be one of my all time favourite pieces in my adopted city.