Month: June 2020

Stormtroopers

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‘You are warriors’

the language of a despot

rallying his troops
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by Scooj

 

* Over the last two weeks, my wife, daughter and I have watched all 11 of the Star Wars movies at my daughter’s request. It has been a real pleasure and a great way to spend our evenings.

The basic plot is good versus evil. What stands out are the parallels with our current times. The Empire presided over by ruthless self-interest in the shape of Trump, Johnson, Bolsonaro, Putin, Assad, Kim and others, against the rebellion in the shape of Black Lives Matter, Greta Thunberg, science, medicine, law, faith and humanity. I wonder how the despots would cast themselves in the Star Wars analogy.

 

3008. Jamaica Street (21)

It is weird how easy it can be to completely miss things, I think the expression is something like ‘you can’t see for the looking’. I must have walked past this qWeRT piece dozens of times, but only noticed it recently.

qWeRT, Jamaica Street, Bristol, June 2020
qWeRT, Jamaica Street, Bristol, June 2020

The placement of the googly-eyed pasteup is absolutely perfect, blending in with a larger mural on the wall from Cheba. It all works so well together. I have always said that half the skill of wheatpasters is their ability to find just the right spot. Get that wrong and the impact can be diluted, get it right and it is amplified. Love this one.

3007. L Dub (17)

I haven’t been to L Dub (Lawrence Weston) very often, and the turnover there doesn’t require frequent visits, but I was very pleased to find this magnificent Laic217 piece there on my last visit a week or so ago. It is the first piece I have seen in this spot from Laic217.

Laic217, L Dub, Bristol, June 2020
Laic217, L Dub, Bristol, June 2020

I know he paints a lot of skulls/skeletons these days, but somehow this one feels extra special somehow. Full of all the trademarks we would expect to see from the artist, it is the perspective of the piece that I particularly like. I also like the grey tones used. This was a particularly pleasurable find.

Last show

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For twenty five years

an ever-present bloomer

has staged her last show

 

I planted and nurtured her

and she spoiled me with flowers.

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by Scooj

 

3006. St Werburghs tunnel (171)

This is one of those few occasions where a photograph actually does do justice to the artwork. I was in St Werburghs tunnel yesterday and revisited this piece (it is still there), but was struck by how the colours were dulled by the lack of good lighting. Somehow the photographs I took have auto-compensated for the poor light conditions and the piece looks amazing. It is of course by Elvs.

Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2020
Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2020

The letter shapes and style are familiar, as are the exquisitely masterful graded fills, but what I really like about this piece is something rarely seen. Elvs has added a 3D shadow that fades from purple on the lower edges to pink on the upper ones. Another highly accomplished piece.

3005. Star and Garter (6)

Since lock down measures were eased At the end of May, 3Dom and Sepr have collaborated on several occasions and are absolutely smashing it with each new wall they paint. This wall opposite the Star and Garter marks the Black Lives Matter campaign in two very different ways.

3Dom, Star and Garter, Bristol, June 2020
3Dom, Star and Garter, Bristol, June 2020

3Dom has opted for a big bold statement “Unity is Power” set on a red and orange background which gives the whole thing a kind of explosive impact. The large letters have shading that has a central vanishing point so the whole thing looks like it is heading straight for us. Nicely done, and unusual writing from 3Dom.

Bday plus 047 7-10 June 2020_edited

Contrast that with Sepr’s birds. His piece tells us a complete story in the simplest way possible. The three birds are identical in every way except their colouring and they are proudly marching hand in hand. This is an exceptional piece which deserves as much exposure as it can get. Poignant and relevant and not preachy.

Bday plus 048 7-10 June 2020_edited

Stormy weather

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Enough already

with your raining cats and dogs

plants are well watered

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by Scooj

3004. M32 roundabout J3 (220)

There have been an awful lot of artists making their debuts on Natural Adventures over the past few weeks, which speaks volumes about just how many street/graffiti artists there are out there at the moment. This is a lovely piece of graffiti writing from Dit Oner, and was painted as part of the Poland v Spain paint jam at the end of May.

 

Dit Oner, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020
Dit Oner, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020

The piece was painted next to Spanish compatriot Wiflywin  and adopted a similar colour scheme. I think, but cannot be certain that the writing says Dit On, but this is a real problem with reading graffiti writing, if you have something i your head, you can nearly always find it in the writing even it it isn’t there. Does that make sense? I think it is called suggestion. The piece is accomplished and very nicely done and I look forward to more from the artist.

Poland 2 Spain 3

3003. L Dub (16)

I love this recent collaboration from DFC1848 and DJ Perks for many reasons, but mainly because these guys are more often on the other side of the camera lens, and have made the step into spraying a lot for themselves and both have made huge improvements in the last year.

DFC1848, L Dub, Bristol, June 2020
DFC1848, L Dub, Bristol, June 2020

The left hand side is a wonderful bright red character from DFC1848, which retains many of the characteristics of some of his earlier characters but contains additional detail. It just goes to show what improvements can be made with loads of practice – DFC1848 had a board in his garden and practiced during lock down.

DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, June 2020
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, June 2020

On the right is a very tidy bit of graffiti writing from DJ Perks, whose work has also seen a great improvement over the last 18 months. the letter shapes are great and the depth of shading works really well. I’m not too sure about the drips though. A lovely collaboration which fills me with hope for my own efforts.

Black vine weevil

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Strolled into my life

kept my interest for a while

then strolled out again

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by Scooj