Salt in my hair and
white salt ringlets on my skin;
Summer sea swimming.
by Scooj
348. Upfest 2016 (7)
Meeting the artists was, for me, one of the great pleasures of being at Upfest this year, and so it was with stopping to chat for a while with ObjectØØØ. Heaven only knows how he and other artists managed to get on with their work with all the interruptions.
ObjectØØØ is an artist I have been watching develop over the last year, as he has taken more to the street art scene. His works are so very distinct…unlike anything else I have seen on the streets. More of his works here and here.
This is another great piece by him and carries all the hallmarks of his work: a contorted body, a bird wing, tentacles and a phrase he uses a lot ‘eat the rich’. I find his work unusual and also rather inspiring. His work oozes with angst and rage but to me also seems to be striving for a freedom just out of reach.
I do hope I’m not turning into too much of a street art critic/bore.
Emerald
After so many
years together, it feels good
to honour their day.
by Scooj
347. Upfest 2016 (6)
RIP seemed to have a lot of fun during Upfest this year. His works were not only confined to The Rising Sun (his designated temporary ‘canvass’) but also to the streets and hoardings of North Street.
The dodo was very low down on a hoarding passageway. Who can resist a dodo eh? There is a lovely Stewy dodo in Leonard Lane…one of my earliest posts. The pun here links to the rather annoying, but very popular Wham! song of the ’80s.
The philosophical chimp is another winner for me. I really like RIP’s work. It is fast, edgy, raw, humerous and keeps the streets alive for those of us who like to look, see and discover.
Dog sitting
One happy daughter;
new sounds and interesting
smells pervade my home.
by Scooj
346. Upfest 2016 (5)
At this year’s Upfest I have been struck by how many female street artists there are, which is really great, because I think there is a perception that most street artists tend to be male. Well, there was a great mix of gender, nationality and style, and perhaps Danielle Clough, who comes from South Africa and works with thick bright embroidery thread most embodies this extraordinary diversity.
Danielle was working hard in the hot sun on Saturday creating this magnificent piece, and continued her work through Sunday in the slightly cooler and at times wetter weather. The outcome is absolutely beautiful, and I hope it will be there for some time to come.
I believe this work by Danielle is the first time I have posted work by a known ‘yarn bomber’, but it certainly will not be the last. Refreshing and beautiful.
City food
Wonderful smells drift
in and out of the street stalls
selling World cuisine.
by Scooj
345. Upfest 2016 (4)
I was really taken by this fantastic work by Belgian artist Din Din who describes herself as a ‘one woman artistic movement’.
On Saturday afternoon, when I watched her working, she was putting down the stencil at the bottom of the piece. I noticed that she used plastic stencils and asked her if she used them because they were stronger (seemed sensible to me), but she answered that with the plastic stencils you can work in the rain…so she came well prepared for a festival in Britain then!
On her website it looks very much like she did two other stencils in the area during her visit to Bristol, so I will have to hunt these down.
There is something about the piece that reminds me a little of Tian’s works that he pasted up around Stokes Croft during his ‘tour’ earlier in the year – photographic works with monochrome tones.
A wonderful piece to see and to get a glimpse of the artist at work.
Son
He will not know the
sadness I feel as I hug
him and wave goodbye.
by Scooj
344. Upfest 2016 (3)
One of the first pieces I saw that had already been completed by the time I arived on Saturday, was this fine and controversial work by Pegasus.
It is highly accomplished stencil work that one expects from Pegasus and the content of his work is often edgy and possibly uncomfortable for some. I imagine that any work representing Mother Teresa (a Saint) is going to be tricky.
I love this piece. It is quite shocking and at the same time so beautifully put together. I think this might be his first visit since his Trump/Hitler conflation in Greville Road, back in April 2016…another controversial one.
Natural adventures 