.
Well thank you so much
a kerbside delivery
what if I were old?
.
by Scooj
Month: June 2022
4510. Porto (2)
Although I am well aware of the incredibly innovative work of Vhils, I have only ever seen one of his works before and that, rather weirdly, is in Exeter, which I wrote about a few years ago. Vhils has a rather interesting technique, which is to chip away at a rendered wall and ‘etch’ a portrait into the wall, providing enormous texture and depth. Some of his pieces almost look like something printed off using a dot matrix printer (remember those?).
My daughter and I stumbled across this piece quite by accident while strolling along the north bank of the River Douro. At first inspection, I thought that the piece was in some way damaged on the left-hand side, but then realised it was meant to look like a tree blending with a portrait. I always wonder whether this method of ‘sculpting’ does any damage to the building, but I guess it isn’t really my concern. I believe it was created in April 2016, and has barely changed at all since then.
4509. Porto (1)
It is unlikely, but it might have escaped your attention that I recently went on a short break to Porto, Portugal, with my daughter, and we had the most incredible time. No pressure, no worries and the freedom to wander round a city with absolutely no agenda or plan. This is the way to see incredible things and make great discoveries.
Like many great cities in Europe, Porto has a graffiti and street art scene, which although still quite young, is most impressive nonetheless. This is the first of several posts of street art from the trip.
Of course, anyone who follows street art will have seen work by Bordallo II on digital media, but to come across a piece (completely by accident – it was my daughter who spotted it down a back street) and see it is the flesh is quite something else. Bordallo II, a Portuguese artist, creates his work from scraps of waste material which he attaches to a wall and paints to create extraordinary ‘installation sculptures’ of animals.
This piece on the south side of the Douro river depicts a rabbit in two halves, the left-hand side is dull and depressing, the right-hand side is colourful, vibrant and optimistic. The piece demonstrates the incredible skill of the artist to create something from nothing and generate different emotions from the viewer within the same work. One less artist on the bucket list.
Inheritance
.
The tiniest glance
in the mirror or on screen
I see my father
.
by Scooj
Thursday doors – 16 June 2022
Doors – 186 – Westminster doors
I have been very challenged in recent weeks with finding time to write Thursday doors posts and equally frustratingly I have neglected my reading of other bloggers’ posts, so I apologise for the radio silence and promise to catch up on my reading when I get a moment.
This post will necessarily be quite brief and is the third instalment of Westminster doors from visiting my London office back in May. I hope you enjoy this little selection:
That pretty much rounds it off this week, and for Westminster doors for a little while – my next series of posts will feature doors from Porto, Portugal, and you are in for a little bit of a treat.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
by Scooj
4508. St Werburghs tunnel (296)
I just don’t seem to see enough of Soge’s work, but it is great to know that he is still in Bristol and taking a can to a wall once in a while. This recent piece was painted alongside Hire and other artists I am not so familiar with in a session in the tunnel
The scratchy writing spelling out SOGE is typical of his writing, and the pink and yellow-bordered purple letters appear to be sitting on a cosmic nebula-type setting. A fine piece of writing from a great writer who needs to get out more (IMO).
4507. Brunel Way (160)
I don’t think that there has ever been a time when I have not been excited to find a piece by Kid Crayon. His work has been at the heart of my love for street art, and he is probably the street artist I have followed most closely over the last six years or so.
This piece is quite unlike anything we might expect from Kid Crayon, but there is a reason for that, He painted it as a part of the Secret Writer name exchange idea, where writers wrote the name of another artist (supposedly anonymously – although Kid Crayon signed this one). He was honouring the artist Rasexone1 and in turn Kid Crayon’s name was written by Magnesone. What a stupendous idea and one that binds the street art community, but a bit confusing for people like me who are trying to untangle and make sense of the whole scene.
In addition, this was the first Kid Crayon piece I had seen in a long time and I asked him, at the Upfest festival, why he has hardly been painting lately. His answer was great news… he has been working flat out with some big commissions, and that for an artist is something to cherish. More posts of his even more recent work coming soon.
Open letter to the world
.
Please do not mistake
the actions of government
as the people’s will
.
by Scooj
As our Government edges towards fascism, the canary in the mine has died, but have we noticed it yet? Well I have, and many others too. Changing times ahead.
4506. Cumberland Basin
It is not only the quantity of graffiti and street art that is being painted in Bristol at the moment, but the outstanding quality of some of it that is quite mind-boggling, and you know that when Smak, Sled One and Ments get together that you are going to be in for a treat.
On the left of this triptych Smak has absolutely smashed out his letters with extraordinary class and style in what I can only describe as a very Smacky way, which I hope makes sense. Although quite well disguised, once you get your eye in you can clearly see the letters SMAK. Great colours and a confident piece.
A surreal and utterly bonkers elephant character by Sled One is in the middle section of this collaborative wall. Alongside 3Dom, Sled One is the leading character artist in Bristol and his weird creations are always something to look forward to. It is his details and textures, tones and depth that makes his work completely stand out from the crowd.
To the right is a fabulously etherial piece from Ments, who seems to reinvent his style on an annual basis while always maintaining an organic and rather abstract nature with his letters. This piece feels almost more like a canvas study than a piece of graffiti writing. Superb skills all round, this is a wonderful collaborative wall.
4505. Sparke Evans Park (46)
Over the last few years, I have taken a particular liking to Claro_que_sssnoh’s work, more so perhaps than his hugely talented Spanish compatriots, which I ought to remedy if I can. I think that the reason I like his work is that it is pretty unique and stands out in a way that some other artists can be a little generic.
This piece in Sparke Evans Park carries many of the characteristics that one would expect to see in Claro_que_sssnoh’s work. Long thin lettering that is interconnected or joined-up, with a deep 3D shadow in a contrasting colour, orange-red to the letter’s green. There is a bit of a bonus skeleton character in this piece, which isn’t often seen in his work, and I wonder if it is by him or one of his HMR paint jam friends. This is another fine piece from Claro_que-SSSnoh, and I think that it is high time that I posted a gallery of his work… watch this space.
Natural adventures 