Harbour festival
threatened by leaden skies
a Summer dulled.
by Scooj
Harbour festival
threatened by leaden skies
a Summer dulled.
by Scooj
The last time I posted about this spot, it was decorated with a collaboration between E.Lee and Copyright. Shortly after I blogged about the piece, it had been replaced by this Soker piece.

I rather like this simple burner by Soker. It is colourful, beautifully crafted and in some way humorous…I can’t quite put my finger on why though. Maybe it is the light fixture in the middle. I don’t know. I know that I like it though. I expect it has been over-painted by now though.

Well this has happened pretty much by accident, two posts by the same artist in a row, and featured only for the first time yesterday.

This is a lovely tribute piece to two of our great British loved ones who passed away in January 2016. Stephen Quick has combined elements from the working lives of David Bowie and Alan Rickman to create this ‘Severus Sane’ image. Alan Rickman (Severus Snape from the Harry Potter films) and Bowie’s Aladdin Sane Ziggy Stardust are conflated into one fabulous image.

It is a touching piece and beautifully executed. It sits in the same car park alongside Hannah Adamaszek’s wonderful piece. Writing this makes me feel quite sad still at the loss of two hugely influential talents. It is a good thing to see them remembered in this way.
This is another piece that was created as part of Upfest 2015. It sits in the covered car park area immediately behind the Tobacco Factory and is by Bristol-trained artist Stephen Quick. On his website, he describes his work as follows:
“My art mainly represents contemporary culture via pop art; I embrace our materialistic nature, which often defines who we are”

I don’t think he does a lot of street art, which may make this piece rather unusual. At first I wondered if it was a studio piece that was placed here, but I think the spray paint has overlapped onto the fence behind and that it was probably painted in situ. In my view, however it was executed, it is a great work – lovely drips.
A little while ago, I took the short loop into Moon Street – I do this about once a week – from Stokes Croft, just to see if there was anything new. It seems that turnover there has slowed a bit in recent weeks so I was pleased to find this collaboration. It is something quite different in light backwashed colours. It almost feels as if the pieces are incomplete…I have returned since, and thy are unchanged.

The right hand side of the two is clearly by Fois – the extra touch of the cowboy hat rounds this writing off perfectly.

The writing on the left hand side though is a mystery. I don’t know who it is by, and given that Fois seems not to use digital social media (at least publicly), it is hard to establish the artist. It is one I will have to return to if I find out anything more.
UPDATE: Thank you Duncan. The second piece is signed Ysae, and is similar to other writing by the same Artist in the Bristol/Swindon area. Unfortunately at this time I know no more than that.
Although nowhere near the site of Upfest, I fully expect most of the Stokes Croft and Bearpit areas to get complete make-overs during the festival weekend.
Humiliation
complete now Boris is the
Foreign Office clown
by Scooj
* I really hope this is the last ‘political’ haiku for a while. It has been a mad 3 weeks.
This is a curious piece…a cat with a fish tail. It was created on the same day as this work by ObjectØØØ and posted as a short film on her Instagram account. Her work is really beautiful, and in addition to her designs, she takes to the streets every so often. I think Dean Lane is a place she enjoys working…I think I have seen two or three of her pieces there.

This particular work, I guess, was done fairly quickly, but I know she has done some rather more substantial pieces recently. Her Instagram account is a busy place, and she can usually be found sticking out her tongue at every possible opportunity. A breath of fresh air.
Another winning bird, this time a Blue Jay – not a native of Britain – by Aspire. I have run out of things to say about Aspire’s work. It is simply fabulous, and I am lucky to have such a talented artist in the neighbourhood.

Accompanying him on this occasion is the unmistakable work of Mr Klue. The swirling pattern working off the right hand side of the bird. Two great local artists keeping things fresh.
Empty expressions
sad pale figures lined up like
lambs to the slaughter.
by Scooj
There are some artists who are so very hard to trace, and that is all part of the game. One such artist is The Agent…or at least that is what I think his name is. Another member of SSOSVA and another stencil artist. The Agent has a liking for dressing up Minions in rather menacing costumes or personas – in this instance a banana toting Frankenstein’s monster.

I have only seen a couple of his works around the Bristol area, suggesting that he is perhaps a visitor. I will update this post as and when I find out more. Who can’t resist a Minion?
UPDATE – I met The Agent at Upfest 2016, and he is most definitely from Bristol, furthermore, he is the father of another great Bristol street artist. So it just shows how easy it is to get things wrong…and embarrassing at times too. All part of the game.