Last month I visited Peterborough for work, and because it is some distance away from Bristol, I stayed the night before the workshop I was leading, in a hotel. On the way to my lodgings, I took a meandering route (as I always do when visiting an unfamiliar town or city), and was rewarded with this unbelievable mural by Nyces (Nathan Murdoch).
Nyces, Peterborough, April 2024 (afternoon)
It appears that Nyces is ‘the’ street artist in town, and although there are small pockets of graffiti writing in various places, Nyces ‘owns’ the walls of Peterborough. This outstanding piece is obviously a reflection of the horrific war in Gaza, with a child in combat gear sitting forlornly in a desert near a makeshift dwelling. A spray can sits amongst pebbles in the foreground, but the small bacon of hope comes from the snowdrop flower emitting some sparkles of light. This is a moving piece that has a calm about it, a sense of resignation – very powerful. It is superbly painted too.
I got really lucky on my way back to the station after my workshop. I had been told that there was an artist painting in the shopping centre opposite the station, and indeed it was Nyces who was painting a series of large murals to brighten the place up. Naturally I introduced myself and has great chat with him. Although he doesn’t leave Peterborough too often, he has visited Bristol once or twice in the past. One or two more pieces to come from Peterborough’s Nyces.
Doors 264 – Doors from Highgate, London, November 2023 (Part III)
I went to a private (public) school in London, Highgate School, which was regarded in those days as a ‘second division’ public school for boys. In fairness, it has changed immeasurably since I was there. Then, it was a hotbed of white male privilege, and an anachronistic hangover from our colonialist days as a nation.
I received a very good education there and made a select few lifelong friends, but I frequently reflect on my time with some regret, that I was, and by inference am, a product of a system that has resulted in so many things that are bad about our country today. Misogyny, arrogance, inflated confidence, entitlement, racism, hierarchy and many other aspects of a social and financial elitism were nurtured in the public school environments of the 1970s.
We see in the current (and previous) Conservative Government the outcome of a dysfunctional and utterly unfair and unbalanced educational (and class) system. So many of our decision makers have enormous ‘blind spots’ where their position and status have been forged by their privileged experiences and selfish desires, without even a cursory glance at the wider society they serve.
Make no mistake, the private educational system in our country perpetuates the class and social divides and in my view should be abolished. A good education and educational assets should be the right of every child in the country, without exception, irrespective of background or ability to pay. Raise the bar for everyone, and if we have to pay more taxes to get it, then so be it. Those paying £30,000 per year (or term in some places) would be able to divert their savings into the public purse and feel the warm glow of helping the nation rather than themselves.
It is clear from the last 14 years, that our Eton-educated leaders have absolutely ruined our country, not because of the quality of their education, but because of their prejudices and ideology nurtured on the playing fields of British public schools.
OK, so I have got that off my chest. There are some parts of my school days that I do look upon fondly. My friends, some of the teachers (the Zoological Society – see last week’s post), the access to sport and the buildings were positive aspects, and through the years I had something of a love/hate relationship with the school. I worked hard, was never particularly academic, and was generally well-behaved. My reward eventually was to be made a school Prefect and head of my house (Eastgate), I say this to put into context the final photograph in this week’s selection where I am sitting to the left of the Housemaster (right as you look at it).
As you might have gathered, this week’s doors are all from the buildings of Highgate School, photographed on my visit there last November. Definitely mixed feelings when I saw the old place. I hope you enjoy the doors.
Doors in the entrance to the ‘modern’ Dyne House, Highgate School, Highgate, London, November 2023
Austere door that was never used as I recall, Highgate School, Highgate, London, November 2023
Fancy glass door on a building that wasn’t there in my day, Highgate School, Highgate, London, November 2023
The main entrance gate and doorway, Highgate School, Highgate, London, November 2023
Doors and steps to the school chapel, Highgate School, Highgate, London, November 2023
Gate to the quadrangle (I think that is what it was called), Highgate School, Highgate, London, November 2023
Door and stairs to the main school hall, Highgate School, Highgate, London, November 2023
Eastgate house photograph circa. 1980/81 in front of the school hall door, Highgate School, Highgate, London, November 2023
I am sure that is it the same for many of us that our school days contribute immeasurably to who we become. I have spend many of my adult years gently unpicking and scrutinising my time at Highgate School, and think I now have a much healthier relationship with the place and circumstance I found myself in, and have challenged the attitudes and prejudices that surrounded me. I am content with it.
More of an essay than a Thursday doors – I promise to revert back to concentrating on doors next week, when I will feature some more Highgate doors.
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.
These pictures are my second attempt at capturing this fine bird piece by Mr Crawls, the first effort resulted in photographs that had the piece in brighter light but scattered with shadows. Sometimes overcast days are much better for certain spots, such as Greenbank and Sparke Evans Park, as well as anywhere with overhanging trees or herbage.
Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2024
Mr Crawls has been having a great few months, especially since joining up with Mote, a partnership that appears to have stretched both artists with some terrific outcomes. In this bird piece, Mr Crawls has used his favoured chrome background as a backdrop for his raptor(?) character sporting a rather nice hat. Although Mr Crawls has been experimenting with all sorts of creative monsters, it is comforting when he returns to one of his classic birds.
When Logoe comes to Bristol from Wales where he lives, he tends to paint in the Eastville spots, so I imagine that he has friends who he can stay with in the area. This piece from a recent visit was painted underneath the M32 motorway, a spot that I don’t visit all that often because it is quite tricky to do with the dog.
Logoe, Frome Side, Bristol, April 2024
This piece, which has not photographed very well because of the light conditions, follows the classic Logoe formula. Some decent script writing, nicely filled and bordered, set on a contrasting background and sprinkled with oval spots. I think that brighter colours might have suited the spot better, but remains a fine piece of graffiti writing.
It feels quite satisfying to reach another landmark on Natural Adventures. This is the 6,000th post featuring graffiti/street art, and that is a lot of art and a lot of words too. The first piece I wrote about was on 16 July 2015 on Park Street by an unknown artist, and was a temporary installation rather than a painted wall, little did I know then that I would still be posting street art nine years later. Today’s landmark piece comes courtesy of Zake.
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2024
The face piece is unmistakably by Zake, and although I don’t think it is one of his best pieces in terms of artwork, it is nonetheless striking and demands more than a cursory glance. A face appears to be emerging from a mask which is split down the middle, but the proportions of the mask don’t quite work for me. As ever, the skill with using light and shadow to create depth and texture is Zake’s forte, and the central brown face in particular is wonderfully crafted. Onward to the next 6,000!
The machine that is Dibz and Fade continues to produce outstanding collaborations, and this one in Dean Lane is a cracker. The Dark Knight is a popular icon for street artists, and Dibz and Fade have gone with the darker variant of the caped crusader, unlike the comedic, lighter cartoonish options they might have gone with
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2024
When I asked Fade how I should attribute the artwork in their pieces, he suggested that where the lines become blurred, just label them Dibz and Fade. The writing is attributable, with Fade on the left and Dibz on the right, but the rest of the work is collaborative. A well-thought-out piece, tidily presented – what else would you expect?
In recent years, Haka has shifted his focus a little away from political statements, to the softer world of children’s picture books. The act of graffiti is no less subversive, but perhaps reflects different priorities in the artist’s life right now.
Haka, St George, Bristol, April 2024
This piece is a faithful reproduction of the iconic children’s classic ‘Not Now, Bernard’ by David McKee, with the obvious replacement of the name Bernard with Haka. The piece, painted on the reverse side of a skate ramp, is in one of Haka’s favoured spots, and is wholly appropriate given that the park is so popular with young families. More, please.
A little while back, Logoe hit town again with another rash of wonderful script writing. This time, I wasn’t so quick to get all the pieces, and they tend not to last too long – perhaps a feature of the spots he chooses, but this one I did snap up, and it is a bit of a beauty.
Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2024
Once again, Logoe has written his name in a script style, although this time the letters are a little plumper and kinder than usual. There is a bit of a drip thing going on, which is always good to see, and the colour transition from green to yellow is nicely worked. The piece is finished off with the customary sprinkling of oval spots running through the middle. An eye-catching piece of graffiti writing.
This is a bright and fun piece from Katie Fishlock was painted at the Bristol Mural Collective paint jam back in April. I have featured her work a few times in Natural Adventures, and have several more of her pieces in my archives, but perhaps don’t ‘big her up’ as much as she deserves.
Fishlock, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2024
Her art studio creative designs translate very well onto walls, which provide a great showcase for her design work. If you’d like to know more about Katie Fishlock, her biography on her website is well worth a read. The portrait piece here plays on the confusion of double sets of eyes, which the brain quickly dismisses and accepts as a normal face, a device used a lot in street art. I rather like the bold statement and way it is presented. Note to self – dig out more of her work from the archive.
Natural adventures 