.
Long snow-lined hedgerows
stand proud in the warming sun
seeing off winter.
.
by Scooj
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.
1367. Upfest 2017 (146)
One of the wildest pieces of Upfest 2017 was this great work from the Goopmassta, who himself was one of the most colourful characters. A visitor from the United States who came over to Bristol with a loose posse of other artists.
Unfortunately, as with many pieces in Ashton Gate, I didn’t get a clean shot of the finished piece, but even from the featured image you can get a feel for this free and happy piece.
The style of the piece is really rather seductive and eyecatching, and I can almost imagine the character being some kind of central figure in a children’s book…with a little bit of edge. Really nice work.
1366. Upfest 2017 (145)
It was impossible to ignore this extraordinary face by Rast ot Upfest 2017. Situated on the long hoardings at Ashton Gate, the bright colours and striking face drew you in.
Originally from Spain, Rast has been living in Bristol in 2014. I must say that I have not come across his work before, but surely would lioke to see more of it in the various locations around Bristol that I vsist.
Northern white rhinoceros
.
Farewell dear Sudan
your tough skin was not enough;
the end of the line.
.
by Scooj
- On the news that the last male northern white rhinoceros was put down yesterday he is survived by his daughter and granddaughter. His passing is a loss that is emblematic and the world will feel a little bit less complete. A sad day indeed.
Duck billed platypus
Extraordinary
eclectic cluster of the
Animal Kingdom.
by Scooj
1365. Upfest 2017 (144)
What a treat. Longstanding readers will know that I am fond of wheatpastes and this little bricked up window at the end of North Street was an absolute treasure trove.
At the top is a D7606 telephone box with David Bowie strutting his stuff. I have written about a larger version of this in Stokes Croft in a previous post. All around this vibrant paste up is a collage of black and white pieces by D7606 and C3.
Underneath the telephone box sitting snugly side by side is another playful Jake the dog by Losthills, this time dressed up as a wonderful hippie. On Jake’s right is a subtle but lovely paste up by C3…but there is more…
…pan back slightly and to the right of the C3 is another Jimzina menu-woman to add to the several I have already posted, and let’s not ignore the Goopmasta sticker (more from him in a couple of posts). All in all a lovely wall.
1364. Upfest 2017 (143)
This unusual and rather haunting portrait, on the hoardings in Raleigh Road, is by the amazing Wasp Elder.
Rather than try to write something clever about his style, that I am not over-familiar with, I thought I’d quote his biography straight from the Upfest programme, because it so perfectly describes what is going on in this picture.
‘Wasp Elder paints pictures populated by enigmatic souls and unstressed backgrounds, enticing a sentiment of an obscure journey.
His drawings, paintings and films present an evocative combination of solitary figures, collaged scenes, close-ups, obscured features, and potential catastrophe.’
It is a fine piece and was in stark contrast to the rather more lighthearted pieces on the rest of this hoarding, lending weight to the wonderful diversity of street art. I like this a lot.
Coelacanth
Most ancient order
of lobe-finned fish enwrapped
with thick scale armour.
by Scooj
Winter lingers
Reset the fireplace
mothballed until next winter
snow and ice return.
by Scooj
1363. Upfest 2017 (142)
This was most certainly one of the highlights of my Upfest experience last year even before I knew that it was by an artist whose work I admire greatly, Braga Last 1.
I saw this piece early in its genesis on one of my first circuits around South Street Park, but inspite of Braga being scrawled all over it, the penny hadn’t dropped. It wasn’t until the end of the second day that I was able to see the finished piece and grab a few moments chatting with Braga Last 1, or at least I should say with his girlfriend as he struggled a litle with English.
The piece is a self-portrait with a crazy bag of stuff in a back pack…but where is he off to? If you take a closer look, this is actually a Brexit piece – there are some clues in the bag.
If you look carefully, you can see that in the rucksack is a book ‘Brexit for Dummies’ a brilliant title. What saddens me is that Europeans view our departure as utter folly, and I can’t help agreeing with them. I feel embarrassed and ashamed that our nation voted to leave and I am left feeling closer to the Europeans than to my own countryfolk. I fear an unhealthy legacy for many decades to come.
Natural adventures 