From a couple of weeks ago, this is a fine piece from Zake, whose work has definitely come out into the open after a gestation period in the partial light of the columns at the M32 Spot. I often wonder what his characters would look like with the pupils of their eyes drawn in, their absence gives them a somewhat aloof aura, deliberate of course.
Zake, M32 roundabout, March 2019
The happy face, I suspect is about to get a whole load happier judging from the pill on his tongue. I know little of such matters so have to make assumptions. I am really enjoying the evolution and exposure of Zake’s work.
The day I found Banksy’s ‘Rose Trap’ turned out to be rather special for another reason. I had taken a detour from my normal route in to work , and rather than try to return to my normal route, I decided to just meander a little in the right direction. It was a great deceision because only 100 meters or so from the Banksy was this stunning piece by ATM.
ATM, Spring Hill, Bristol, March 2019
I have known about this lynx for some time, which I think it was actually painted in November 2016, but I never managed to find it. Sometimes life just catches up with you, and good intentions fly out of the window. In a way, finding a piece like this without intent is somehow extra rewarding… it is like receiving a gift that you weren’t expecting.
ATM, Spring Hill, Bristol, March 2019
The sensational piece is nestled at the bottom of a very steep and narrow cobbled lane that leads up to Cotham. On his twitter feed at the time, ATM wrote:
This tweet I think tells you how much ATM cares about wildlife, and he uses his art to raise awareness and get people thinking about the world around them.
It is unfortunate that the patches (presumably covering up tags) weren’t properly colour-matched with background, but great that someone cares enough to keep this piece in great condition. Let’s hear it for the lynx.
Well it appears that Kleiner Shames has been back in town, and left us with a most beautiful FOIS at the farm end of St Werburghs tunnel. His distinctive style and colour palette seems to draw heavily on the Art Deco style combined with a kind of 1970s/80s freedom.
Kleiner Shames, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2019
His metallic spray paint used for the central lettering is a nightmare to photograph in the tunnel – if it is in shade it is one colour, if it is in the light another and pictured from the front it goes from dark to light. Irrespective of the trickiness of trying to get a nice picture, it is always, always great when Kleiner Shames comes ‘home’.
I have been writing about and photographing Bristol street art for about four years now, and I suppose I like to think that I know quite a lot about the contemporary scene. Now when you talk to people about Bristol and street art or graffiti, the conversation pretty much always starts like this:
“oh, Banksy, he is from Bristol isn’t he?”
To which I reply
“yes he is, but there are a whole ton of brilliant and talented street artists in Bristol who are not Banksy”
Generally the point I am making when I do this is that Bristol is not a ‘one trick pony’, and that 99.9% of the street art in Bristol is not by Banksy, “come and take a look at the vast array of talent on offer”. Some shrug their shoulders “m’eh” they say and look for some other iconic brand to schmooze with. Others open their eyes and enter into the secret garden that is Bristol street art. Welcome.
A digression.
I didn’t even know about this Banksy piece until about a fortnight ago, and found it while I was fannying about on Google streetview. What this goes to show is that I have so much more to learn, and I am open to that, completely. The piece is called Rose Trap and must be quite old. It is protected by a piece of Perspex and sited outside a residential back gate, such an inauspicious place.
Banksy, Thomas Street North, Bristol, March 2019
The piece is so typically mischievous, as you’d expect from Banksy. I know little of the history of this little gem, but I expect there is quite a lot of information about it on the Interweb.
Banksy, Thomas Street North, Bristol, March 2019
Finding this treasure is one of the little perks of this hobby (is it a hobby or an obsession? Is there something in between that sounds a little more cerebral?). Banksy.
A new Mexican cantina has opened up in Stokes Croft called Masa and Mezcal where the old MEATliquor use to be. The cantina looks rather nice and has a fresher feel than its predecessor. Because this is Stokes Croft, it wouldn’t quite feel complete without some street art about the place, and this building has always had art and tags.
Jody, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2019
Who better to adorn this new outlet than Bristol’s Jody. Here he gives one of his beautiful portrait pieces which blends into the graffiti that pre-existed on the wall in a thoughtful and sensitive way, giving the whole thing an air of credibility rather than whitewashing and starting afresh.
Jody, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2019
This is a piece that will be missed by many, because although it is new, it looks like it has been here for ever. Very beautiful, very clever.
Anyone who can tell me what is going on here (other than the artist himself) deserves a medal, because it is wild and complex. Tom Miller has an exquisite touch and fertile imagination, a potent combination for creating vibrant and sometimes provocative street art.
Tom Miller, The Nova Scotia, Bristol, February 2019
Tom Miller left this piece unfinished for quite some time with a little note in the bottom right hand corner saying ‘work in progress’, but I have to say that the only difference I can make out between the unfinished and finished version is his signature.
Tom Miller, The Nova Scotia, Bristol, March 2019
The piece is in two very distinct and contrasting halves. On the left are several faces looking a bit like masks and typically distorted in a surreal way that Tom Miller does so well.
Tom Miller, The Nova Scotia, Bristol, March 2019
On the right hand side are two large intertwined and rather frightening dog heads and just above them a series of smaller ones. There is real threat and menace here which seems to be at odds with the unsuspecting mask faces to the left. A truly dream-like or even nightmarish piece from Tom Miller, executed with enormous skill.
It is always great fun to see how street artists can play with each other’s work. For example, this piece is not a collaboration, it is an add-on. The original work was a RAW collaboration the centrepiece of which was this fabulous character by Jaksta.
Jaksta, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2019
Turnover on this wall has been unusually high this spring and when ‘the monday club’ a group of artists including Nevergiveup, Tasha Bee, Soap, Run Z and Zake set about painting here, Nevergiveup worked around Jaksta’s piece almost like a respect thing, his bunnies leaning in towards the character, together with a carefully, thoughtfully resprayed background.
Jaksta, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2019
Often Jaksta’s characters are well known film stars or personalities, but I’m not sure I know who this is. What we have here is two pieces for the price of one… and some more bunnies for the collection.
Jaksta and Nevergiveup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2019
Natural adventures 