.
Intimidation
discredit and undermine
the tools of the trade
.
by Scooj
4498. M32 roundabout J3 (412)
Like many other established artists in Bristol, Soker is emerging from a rather quiet couple of years, and we are beginning to see his work about the place more frequently. This, for any fan of top-drawer graffiti writing, is good news indeed.
This fine piece, on the M 32 roundabout, is classic Soker, spelling out SOKEM, with beautifully presented letters sharply contrasting with the fully buffed and decorated background. It is easy to spot great quality when you see it, and this is right up there with the best.
4497. St Werburghs tunnel (295)
More abstract fantasticness from Mr Klue, who after a long absence from the streets has now hit a rhythm and it turning out some lovely pieces in the St Werburghs tunnel on a regular basis.
This one is in his prime spot, which I am sure will have made him very happy, and reintroduces another of his recurring themes, floating stairs or steps. I don’t quite know the significance of the steps, but Mr Klue uses them in a lot of his work. A stairway to heaven perhaps? Such is the new productivity of the artist, I am struggling to keep up with posting his work, especially with Upfest and a trip to Porto to report on. Never been so blog-busy.
Deportation
.
How can it be right
to demonise refugees
it cannot be right
.
by Scooj
4496. Cattle Market Road (11)
The Bristol Womxn Mural Collective are a wonderful group of femxle (to use their convention) artists who come together several times a year to get out of their studios and try their hand at painting on the street. The outcome is invariable something rather special and different from the more conventional work we are used to seeing.
This is a superb study of a toadstool by Nina Raines, whose works are so incredibly diverse and don’t conform to a style, on account of her ‘proper’ profession as a theatrical scenic artist. This piece definitely works for me, with its different layers and textures. Great work… more to come from this paint jam.
4495. St Michael’s Hill (5)
My wife was a little late for work a couple of weeks ago, so I gave her a lift in the car. Our route takes us onto St Michael’s hill, and I glanced (as I always do when passing by) down a little alleyway favoured by John D’oh and by total luck he was there spraying a new stencil. Of course, after dropping my wife off, I made a bee-line for the alley way and stopped for a quick chat with John D’oh. As always it was a genuine pleasure to catch up, and great to see the artist at work. While we were talking, a bird pooped on one of the freshly painted faces… the perils of being a street artist!
The piece is a fantastic awareness work that talks about mental health, in particular depression and anxiety, a topic that resonates for me and my family, and I expect for a great many people in today’s troubled landscape. The words on the stencil piece read:
“Pretending you’re okay is easier than having to explain to anyone why you’re not.
Mental health – don’t suffer in silence
Depression is when you don’t really care about anything, anxiety is when you care too much about everything, and having both is just like hell.”
I believe this to be one of John Doh’s finest pieces. The topic aside (a massively important one), he presents four stunning colourful stencils perfectly and seamlessly joined and topped and tailed with a banner and footer. The whole thing is expertly produced and beautifully proportioned.
The stylised comic-book characters are cleverly selected to be both eye-catching and, to a degree, nostalgic. It was interesting to see that John D’oh brought elements of this piece to his collage of pieces for Upfest this year – the joy of stencil art.
I drove past the spot this morning, on a repeat wife-lift scenario, and saw that he has added another piece to his expanding gallery, so I’ll have to pop up there for another photo session soon. Utterly fabulous work from John D’oh.
DJ Perks
A gallery of fabulous writing and character pieces from Lawrence Weston’s DJ Perks
Instagram: @djperks71
All photographs by Scooj
4494. Dean Lane skate park (499)
This is one of several Logoe pieces from a short visit to Bristol by the artist recently, and in my view probably the best. On the best wall (IMHO) at Dean Lane skate park, Logoe has taken time and care with this piece, and the proportions work well.
Following his regular style of slim, white script writing spelling out his name decorated with stripes and elyptical dots, Logoe has produced a beauty here. the colour combinations are excellent, and the whole piece really benefits from a buffed wall, without which it would probably look a bit untidy. I think I still have one or two pieces from this Bristol trip.
4493. Mount Pleasant Terrace
While busily searching Bedminster for new Upfest walls, I took a turn down a street I don’t normally visit and at the end saw this lovely stencil from Stewy. The same piece used to be in North Street, but that disappeared some years ago. This brilliant piece portrays the musician Robert Wyatt, who’s version of ‘Ship building’ remains one of my favourite tracks of all time.
I am so pleased that I found this, because I was a little upset when the North Street one went. It is the joy of stencils, that they can be recreated more than once, extending the lifetime and footprint of a piece of art. Fabulous work by a fabulous artist of a fabulous artist.
#Notmovingon
.
Do ‘what people want’
in your own words and resign
I’m not moving on
.
by Scooj
Natural adventures 