Author: scooj

I am Stephen. I live in Bristol, UK. I decided to shorten my profile...to this: Wildlife, haiku, travel, streetart, psychogeography and my family. Not necessarily in that order.

2902. The Bearpit (186)

This prophetic piece by Object… in The Bearpit was a protest and exposure of Bristol City’s determination to shut down the space and clear it of all ‘undesirable’ activity and make it a safe, clinical space. Object… quotes from Tom Flemming a creative consultant for Bristol City Council:

“…it will also be vital to champion the messy, the marginal and the avante garde, where imagination drives the city of the future.”

The Council shut The Bearpit down, expelled the homeless people (some of whom I note have returned), removed skateboarding and buffed all the walls with anti-graffiti paint. The space is now sterile (and indeed safer), but street art and graffiti were not contributing to a lack of safety, but perceptions seemed to rule the Council decision making. A council, I would add, that celebrates its association with Banksy. Some muddled thinking here.

Object..., The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Object…, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018

Object…’s piece once again features a contorted and strangely proportioned figure propping up the rights of the overlooked, the messy, marginal and avante garde mentioned above. He is a true champion and I salute him.

 

2901. M32 Spot (64)

Going through the archives is turning out some nice surprises, and I have been fiding quite a few old pieces by Conrico, like this one at the M32 Spot from August 2018, at a time when I wasn’t familiar with the artist.

Conrico, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2018
Conrico, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2018

This wonderful melty column piece I suspect in some way might be drug related. There is certainly something fairly unusual and dreamlike going on and the separation of the character’s head and copious amounts of smoke suggest something weird is going on. Ever colourful and imaginative, Conrico is a lovely bloke whose work really brightens the place up.

Cat astrophe

 

Wailing for her food

far beyond irritating

already been fed

 

by Scooj

 

Ninja the cat is getting on a bit and is losing her hearing and sight. Oh my goodness the noisy protest for food. Had she had her wits about her she’d have found the food already in her bowl.

2900. Dean Lane skate park (305)

The great thing about looking back is that you get to see what artist’s work looked like some time ago and how they might have developed over time. This fabulous pair of rabbits from Nevergiveup (#followmyrabbits) is from April 2018 and is notably different from more recent incarnations of the characters in two respects: the amount of decoration on the torso is much more limited, and the ears much smaller than on the 2020 versions.

Nevergiveup, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Nevergiveup, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018

We have to remember that the artist has only been in Bristol for about three years, it feels much longer because of the abundance and spread of rabbits, but in street art terms it is a relatively short time. The image below is a more recent incarnation pf a Nevergiveup rabbit, can you see the differences?

Nevergiveup, Lucky Lane, Bristol, February 2020
Nevergiveup, Lucky Lane, Bristol, February 2020

2899. M32 cycle path (57)

Aah, it is so easy to forget how bright and shiny (or shite and briney as an old colleague of mine used to say) this collaboration was when it was painted. Its quality has stood the test of time and it remained untouched for a very long spell – I think it has finally been painted over.

Dot Rotten, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Dot Rotten, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

The collaboration on the M32 cycle path from 2018 was painted by Dot Rotten (SPOILT), Sled One and Smak. Dot Rotten is an artist Idon’t think I have posted before, but while I have been going through my archive recently I have spotted quite a few of his pieces, so expect more in the coming days/weeks.

Sled One, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Sled One, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

Sled One has done here what Sled One does everywhere and that is turned out a high-quality character piece with great panache and style. The skull s beautifully drafted and has an animated humour about it. A nice touch to have an ASK speech bubble coming out of the cigarette.

Smak, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Smak, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

On the right hand side of the collaboration is a clean, crisp and straight forward Smak piece which stands out from the wall thanks to the yellow outline and bright highlight spots. The whole collaboration has been painted on a shared background and colour selections and was a welcoming sight on this stretch of cycle path.

New neighbours

.

The robins have left

and attentions turn to the

wrens in the nest box

 

by Scooj

2898. Leonard Lane (25)

This wonderful stencil piece in Leonard lane is by John D’oh and was one of several that were painted during a bit of a spree I think. The caption ‘People think I’m Banksy’  is a reference to Massive Attack star Robert del Naja (on the right), who has been suspected of being Banksy and who some still think might be him.

John D'oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017
John D’oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017

It is a classic piece of John D’oh single-layer stencil work, and is emblematic of the whole Bristol street art scene and sub-culture. I have more to publish from this John D’oh session in 2017 and will get round to more of them if the lock down persists.

2897. Bedminster

I don’t quite remember exactly the name of the road that this stunning Feoflip piece is in, but it is in Bedminster off East Street I think. Just one of the amazing legacy of works left behind by the artist during and after Upfest 2016. I like everything about this artist – his style and soft colour choices, his attention to finding the right spot and his adventurous spirit.

Feoflip, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Feoflip, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

This Picassoesque face in grey shades on the mustard yellow background works perfectly on the red brick wall. Feoflip seems to have developed a technique that generates splatty thin lines that create the detail in his work and give it a really interesting texture. Unlike any other artist I have seen, Feoflip’s unique style works really well for me. I do hope he returns to Bristol before too long.

Tree surgeon

 

A distant tock tock

floats over urban rooftops

woodpecker at work

 

by Scooj

2896. Hepburn Road (15)

Tucked away in a lane not usually associated with Kid Crayon was this rather unusual two-tone piece from July 2017. One of the things that I would often associate with Kid Crayon is his abundant use of colour, so this was something of a change.

Kid Crayon, Hepburn Road, Bristol, July 2017
Kid Crayon, Hepburn Road, Bristol, July 2017

My guess is that this was a quick one that was more for his own amusement than for public display. I love finding works like this, because they show another side of an artist and the range and diversity of their work. Without the signature, this would be quite difficult to identify as a KC piece. I’m not sure what the speech bubble says, but it looks like ‘wired’ to me. Does it refer to KC himself or to the character of the piece?