Off we go again on another batch of fabulous street/graffiti art from Upfest 2018, starting with this stunner from Lokey. Lokey, a Bristol artist is a specialist at 3D writing, and this piece is close to perfection in my view. With subtle shading and clever ‘hourglass’ highlights the letters LOKEY are lifted out from the black background.
Lokey, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Everything about this piece is good – the colours, the design and proportions and the lovely clean sharp lines. This is definitely one of my favourite graffiti pieces from the festival this year. It took me a couple of days to get a good picture of it though, because every time I went to take a look at it, there were bunches of people standing in front of it. There should be a law against that.
The final instalment of doors from Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy, where I (not so recently any more) spent a week with my family on our summer holiday. ‘Citta’ was the nearest city to where we were staying and is a place that we have visited many times over the years. This area of Italy is a particular favourite of ours, but this is the first time I have visited with a ‘door chip’ inserted. There is a little more to some of these doors than first meets the eye.
This door was the entrance to some apartments and played host to tons of small tags and graffiti. Most of the other doors on this main shopping street were not afforded the same attention.
Graffiti door, Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy, August 2018Double door, Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy, August 2018
There are many views and scenes in Italy that unsurprisingly remind you of some of the great Italian artists – the door below and the archway leading up to it and all the colours and shadows screamed Giorgio de Chirico to me.
‘De Chirico’ door, Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy, August 2018
I did a little research on the next door, because there was something about it that was rather special. It is in fact a door of the dead, and thanks this post on the fabulous website Experience Tuscany and Umbria, I can tell you a little more about it. The door dates back to medieval times and would usually be set to one side of the main dwelling entrance. It was only ever used for taking a deceased body out of the home in a coffin, after which the doorway was bricked up on the inside to prevent death from returning. I believe that many of these doors can be found in old Italian houses.
Door of the dead, Corso Cavour, Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy, August 2018
The final door is another rather peculiar one which was in the wall of the crypt of the Cathedral of St Florido and Amanzio by the exit. It was an iron gate, not very special in its own right but it was what lay behind it that was a bit creepy.
Cathedral of St Florido and Amanzio, Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy, August 2018
I have been to catacombs and many crypts and have seen many skeletons and relics and expect this kind of thing in Italy, but this display was simply weird. The cellar room had a scene reminiscent of Pinocchio, presumably something for children to look at, but in my view the stuff of nightmares. Interesting nonetheless.
Cathedral of St Florido and Amanzio, Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy, August 2018
And that’s it from Citta di Castello…more Italian doors soon.
Well this came as a bit of a surprise and something of a treat too. On my walk in to work a couple of weeks back, I thought I’d take a small detour down Jamaica Street, and there, big as you like, was this wonderful collaboration between Bristol’s Cheba and Lebanese calligraphy artist Ghaleb Hawila.
Cheba and Ghaleb Hawila, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2018
This kind of collaboration is quite unusual in Bristol, and I am not certain I have seen any calligraphy here before, although I have seen plenty in London. Additionally, this wall is an absolute bugger to photograph because it sits in a gated courtyard and the angles are all wrong…this is the best I could do.
Cheba has painted a silhouette clutching some bright object that is sending out shards of light. The silhouetted figure is filled decorated with Cheba’s trademark cosmic space scenery, which gives it some depth.
Ghaleb Hawila said this on his Instagram feed about the collaboration:
“You gotta believe in yourself; in the lights buried within you. Give yourself the permission to glow and grow.” A collaboration with my brother @cheba_bristol his magnificent work and personality. That’s exactly one year after meeting this crazy guy in Alay, Lebanon during the @ahlafawda and @risegallery cultural exchange. I spent four days at his beautiful house, with his hyper dog and lovely wife. We explored a lot in his studio and i just can’t sum the experience with words. It was an intensive restless art residency were you get to explore yourself more and more.
It is great to get a bit of insight into how these things are achieved. A wonderwall.
There is one circumstance in which is is absolutely ok to buff over someone’s work, and that is when it is your own.Here is an example of just that where Soker has painted over one of his own pieces, and if you look closely, you can see the similar shape of the letter ‘R’ in both.
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Wildstyle writing (graffiti writing) is an incredible artform in its own right, and I am a big fan of it. That has not always been the case. In the early days of photographing street art, I simply didn’t get it and considered it inferior and messy. Having studied it for close on four years now, I am able to enjoy it just as much as conventional street art. Soker of course is the master of this form.
Face 1st (F1st) is the master of getting his work squeezed into just about every corner of Bristol. At any one time, the M32 roundabout must play host to four or five of his pieces, which is pretty impressive really. I would hate to see his monthly spend on spray cans.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
This is a return to his more ‘traditional’ style of a pretty face incorporated into some beautifully decorated letters which usually spell out FACE, but in this instance I’m not sure about that. It is always great to see work by one of my absolute favourite Bristol artists.
Whenever qWeRT comes to town there is always an exciting trail of wheatpastes hidden in the back streets of Bristol. I am constantly on a quest to find them, but know there are some I will never find.
qWeRT, Upper York Street, Bristol, August 2018
This one is on the pillar of a car park, which adjoins a former church and so is entirely appropriate to its environs. Jesus is rarely depicted in street art, which is peculiar in a way, because in years gone by he has been the subject of countless murals, inside and outside. This is a wonderful piece…a googly eyed Jesus – not something you see every day.
I’m getting to see quite a lot of work by Kool Hand dotted about the place, and what I see I like. His work is distinctive, using only a few strong colours to fill strong clean lines around his characters. There is a light-heartedness about his work which brings a smile to my face.
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
The writing part of this piece spells out KoolH and is rather nicely filled out with what looks like a bit of a jungle scene commensurate with his crocodile character. It looks like his dark green might have been running a little low. I love the way he always preps his walls with a whitewash background, another tell-tale sign that Kool Hand is about.
Natural adventures 