Category: 7.2. Upfest 2017

922. Upfest 2017 (5)

I remember well the lovely piece by Fats in the Tobacco Factory at last year’s Upfest. This year she produced another fine work in South Street park, where I was able to catch up with her for a few minutes.

Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Fats talked a lot about her background and heritage, which is truly international and mixed, and how her work receives many influences, from Arabic calligraphy to the styles of indigenous Inuit people. Our discussion ventured further into the perils of perceived appropriation and how this can create some tensions. This is a tricky path really. At what point does ‘being influenced by’ transition into copying?

Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I am clear that Fats’ work is stunning, and carries many influences that she skilfully executes in her own lyrical way. I see more of the North American influence others may see more Arabic. One thing is clear, she loves her dark drawing lines. I actually really like this piece, and was grateful for her time.

Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Fats, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

921. Upfest 2017 (3)

I have only been familiar with the work of Losthills since last Upfest, and his wheatpastes are a joy – each one found is a treasure. It seems he stole a march on all the others this year by arriving in Bristol a day or two before Upfest.

Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Not only content with pasting in Bedminster, he also left a few treats in the Stokes Croft area too. This is a really great piece by Losthills, with Jake the dog posing as (I’m guessing here) Ed Sheeran. There is a lot of detail here, right down to the tattoos. Brilliant.

Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

By the end of the second day of the festival, ‘Ed’ the dog was joined by some groupies.

A word about placement – I have said this before, but for wheatpasters, the location and orientation of your piece is almost as important as the piece itself. This is a perfect place, as good as any I have seen in Bristol.

920. Upfest 2017 (2)

At the very farthest end of East Street above the Barclays Bank is the first piece of Upfest 2017 that will be seen by visitors approaching from that direction. It is a stunning portrait by two of Bristol’s best street artists 3Dom and Voyder.

3Dom and Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
3Dom and Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

They have collaborated before to spray a similar piece a few years back and this is easily its equal. It is a busy piece full of meanings – there is the contextualising of Bristol with the Clifton suspension bridge and hot air balloons – and the headdress is full of hidden and overt meaning, including a third eye.

3Dom and Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
3Dom and Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The face, by Voyder is absolutely captivating. The whole bold piece is a fabulous taster for those arriving in Bedminster to discover some sensational street/graffiti art.

919. Upfest 2017 (1)

The spirit of Upfest is alive and well.

I took a quick walk to Bedminster the day before the festival began, and I came across these two artists in Dean Lane. They said that they hadn’t managed to get a space at this year’s festival, but were hoping to find a wall somewhere, and they had started with this one.

Apset and Ionas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Apset and Ionas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

They come from Thessaloniki in Greece, and their names are Apset and Ionas. They were so friendly and happy for me to chat with them for a while. I warned them that at last year’s festival this wall was sprayed several times over and that I hoped their piece would remain.

Apset and Ionas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Apset and Ionas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Without question, the piece is very different from the things we usually see in Dean Lane. It has a real Mediterranean feel to it, which was most welcome, given the showery nature of the weather this year. I managed to find Apset’s Facebook page, but failed to find out much about Ionas.

Apset and Ionas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Apset and Ionas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

They did eventually find some boards to spray in the South Street park venue and I’ll cover these another time. Equally uplifting was that this piece remained in place and untagged for at least three days.

Two great artists, a great first piece at Upfest and a great place to start my posts for Upfest 2017.