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.

2283.Dean Lane skate park (223)

It can be a little tiresome for people like me when artists change their ‘street’ names, because it mucks up how I catalogue them and how I write about them. A case in point is Biers (old name) who now goes by the moniker Kool Aid, and instead of writing Biers like he used to, writes Oh Yeah instead. I am a creature of habit so will continue to call him Biers, so there! In this piece he has teamed up with No Frills stablemate Bags about whom I know zilch, so some work for me to do there.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019

The standard approach from Biers is to accompany his uniquely stylish writing with a little character, usually associated with a TV cartoon character. I rather enjoy trying to find out who his little characters are, but in this piece my Google research has failed me. Nice tidy collaboration.

2282. The Bearpit (183)

In recent days, The Bearpit has been shut off and there is no access. Bristol City Council stealthily went in to evict a group of rough sleepers who had made themselves at home in a bus (formerly a cafe) and some container units. In forcing the eviction they have completely closed down the space. This was an not an inevitable conclusion to the problems caused by homelessness, addiction, antisocial behaviour in The Bearpit but  a terrible failure in ‘upstream’ thinking about how to tackle the issue.

As a result of this intervention, all the good things about this public space have been closed down, possibly permanently. In my view this has been really poorly managed by Bristol City Council, but I would concede that they are grossly underfunded and what we are witnessing is the result of years of austerity and public sector funding cuts, and this in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Disgraceful.

I say all of this because this lovely piece by Panskaribas is likely to be one of the last I will be posting from The Bearpit for some time.

Panskaribas, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2019
Panskaribas, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2019

Panskaribas is probably the easiest artist to identify in Bristol on account of his kind of cubist-doodle style and this is a wonderful example of his work. The other outstanding thing about this artist is his incredible energy, he seems to be the most prolific artist in Bristol currently. RIP The Bearpit.

2281. Norfolk Place (5)

Sometimes you’ve just got to go big and bold, and they don’t come much bigger and bolder than this fine piece of writing from Soker. This is a wall that doesn’t seem to change all that often, and is usually occupied by an ASK artist.

Soker, Norfolk Place, Bristol, April 2019
Soker, Norfolk Place, Bristol, April 2019

There is a lot to like about this piece which looks so graceful, clean and simple, but it takes a lot of skill and experience to pull off writing like this. The letter font is easy on the eye, and the green and white highlights help to give a 3D appearance, and the whole thing is set off on a nice background of cool colours and shapes. It is the pink touches that add just a little bit of class. A fine work.

Clown demagogues

.

Compulsive liars

whose jocular arrogance

fools only the fools.

.

by Scooj

Humidity

 

Each breath more effort

and though it remains quite cool

I sense summer’s thrust.

 

by Scooj

 

 

2280. New Stadium Road (14)

It is always great getting an early glimpse of a new artist in town, and this angry mouse is one of a few recent pieces by Saik One, whose work I have not seen or written about before.

Saik One, New Stadium Road, Bristol, April 2019
Saik One, New Stadium Road, Bristol, April 2019

At first I thought it might have been a return to Bristol for Angry Face (whose work I haven’t seen for a while now) on account of the sharp teeth, but this has a personality all of its own. I found another of Saik One’s pieces early this morning, so plenty more to come from Saik One soon, and perhaps I can do a little digging to find out more about the artist.

2279. Porlock Road

Exploring new parts of Bristol always has its rewards, and I found this piece by Andy Council completely by accident when I went on a pilgrimage to see the My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton collaboration up on Windmill Hill.

Andy Council, Porlock Road, Bristol, April 2019
Andy Council, Porlock Road, Bristol, April 2019

It seems that Andy Council’s pieces are dotted all over Bristol, and after five years of writing posts like this one, I still have several more to find. The reason that his work is so dispersed is that he does a lot of private commissions and so he is not confined to the few ‘legal’ spots in Bristol to show off his fabulous work.

Andy Council, Porlock Road, Bristol, April 2019
Andy Council, Porlock Road, Bristol, April 2019

This splendid peacock is a great example of Andy Council at his very best in which the whole creation is made up of buildings typical of the area in Bristol. The blue colour scheme suits this piece and the wall superbly. A great find, and good to know that there are still these hidden gems all over the place.

2278. River Frome

I love this recent piece by Haka adjacent to the M32 roundabout where the River Frome flows from a culvert that carries it under the motorway. It is a very witty pun piece which I guess might be called ‘Where’s Whaley’ after the children’s puzzle books.

Haka, River Frome, Bristol, June 2019
Haka, River Frome, Bristol, June 2019

I guess that it was painted when the river was low before the sustained period of rain we have had recently. Another feature of Haka’s work is that he usually accompanies it with a tribute to a graffiti writer friend of his, CKOne, who passed away in a motorcycle accident in December 2011. It is touching that he continues to honour his friend in this way.

2277. M32 roundabout J3 (149)

As a teenager I was fairly obsessed with 2-Tone Records, in particular The Specials, so much so that a plaster cast I had on my broken leg as a sixteen-year-old was decorated from top to bottom in black and white squares. So imagine my unbridled delight at finding this 2-Tonetastick collaboration between Rezwonk and Decay douwn at the M32 roundabout.

Rezwonk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
Rezwonk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019

I wonder if this piece was inspired in any way by the recent release of a new album from the Specials. On the left Rezwonk has written his name split into six sections in reversed black and white boxes. Some additional accent decorations in red just add a little extra interest.

Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019

On the right Decay has written his name in a continuation of the reversed black and white boxes and he too has incorporated some red in the form of his little ‘e’ character Chuck. The dancing rude boy, the filling in the sandwich, could be by either of them, but I’m putting my money on Decay. A joyful collaboration.

To Dorchester

 

The engine drags us through

a rich and verdant land

lush from unusually heavy summer rains

 

The rhythm is punctuated by small stations

boasting tidy flowerbeds and once busy buildings

that slumber now as polluting cars

offer a more convenient means of travel

 

I am afforded the luxury of time to think

and to stare out of the window

where I see my life dashing by

each blade of grass a memory lost

 

Closer now to my destination than to my home

the journey has passed all too quickly

I should have liked a little more time, just a little,

to have lingered a while at each of the stops along the way.

 

by Scooj

 

* something of a rarity from me. Always a little nervous of sharing poems other than haikus or tankas.