3971. Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare

Wouldn’t it be great if Irony painted more often in the west of England… oh, hang on a minute he seems to be turning up everywhere at the moment, something surely to be celebrated. Maybe we could tempt him to move to Bristol and treat us with his work more often, that would be good.

This magnificent cockerel piece above Sultan’s Kebab House is as brilliant as it is unexpected. What? Who? Why? The piece bursts out of the ordinariness of its surroundings on a bright yellow background and demands attention. What a fabulous addition to this seaside town, known for its street art culture generated mainly by JPS and augmented by Banksy’s ‘Dismaland’ exhibition from a few years ago.

The piece is part of an event orchestrated by Upfest for the town, more information taken from the Upfest website is as follows:

Europe’s biggest street art festival is coming to Weston this summer.

Upfest will join forces with Weston Town Council, local artists and organisations including Culture Weston to create a series of murals on buildings across the seaside town this month.

Up-and-coming local artists from Weston, as well as artists from further afield, will be taking part in the project.

They will paint 10 different murals over 10 days, mainly focused in and around the town centre.

The initiative has been funded with a £20,000 grant from the town council.

There will not be a set theme, with artists being asked to come up with their own designs.

The murals will form part of a permanent trail around the town, and it is hoped this will help to bring people into Weston. A shortlist of artists for the project is now being drawn up.

Of course, 10 walls in 10 days is going to be a bit of a challenge for me to record, living a little bit away and only visiting occasionally, but I will try my best.

I think that this piece, more than any other, perfectly demonstrates how a piece of urban art, free for all to enjoy, can lift the spirits of a place, create a sense of pride and identity and drive inward investment. A perfect win win situation.

Irony is a genius.