4562. M32 cycle path (179)

Felix Braun or FLX as he is known is one of the godfather’s of street art in Bristol and author of the wonderful ‘Children of the Can’ books. His street work these days tends to be commission-based or the occasional appearance at a festival. He has been rather busy in Bristol lately, which is obviously good news.

This piece on the M32 cycle path is highly unusual because it appears to be a sanctioned commission (who else gets to paint behind temporary railings?) on a wall that normally plays host to high turnover graffiti and tagging. I don’t know how Felix Braun has swung this, not do I know how long it will remain untagged, but for the meanwhile it is a case of sitting back and admiring this huge piece.

The overall message is ‘Love Bristol’ or ‘Bristol loves you’ which is preaching to a converted audience. The piece itself is a showcase for FLX’s themes of silhouetted people, and of overlapping letters in different colours, creating third colours where the overlap occurs.

In the heart section, the word love appears in several different languages and scripts, most of which I cannot read, but I am pretty sure they all say love. This is a positive message and one that we are in desperate need of in the UK right now.

Let’s hope that the positive messaging translates into positive outcomes, starting with a total change in government… that would be nice.