I have encountered Zabou’s work in London, Bristol (at Upfest) and in Cheltenham at last year’s paint festival, where I was lucky enough to meet her and have a quick chat, in which I basically gushed about her work and probably made a bit of a fool of myself. I seem to recall that I said I would send her some posts I had written about her work, but typical of my general uselesness I haven’t done it.
Zabou, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
This is a fabulous piece in Soreditch of two angelic figures looking like they are going to get up to no good with spray cans at the ready. The piece has a kind of ’50s retro feel about it, maybe it is the hairstyles. If one took a look at it today, it might be easy to assume that the masked ladies were protecting themselves from the Coronovirus with their facemasks. It is interesting how things can be seen in different ways depending on the context or socio-political landscape.
In a small way, the lack of new art being sprayed in Bristol due to coronavirus lock down, has enabled me to dip into my archives and share with you some pieces that I simply didn’t have space for at the timw I took the pictures. The next three posts are from a trip to Shoreditch, London in August 2016.
Tizer, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
This amazing piece of widlstyle writing is by Tizer who I understand is generally considered to be one of the best graffiti writers in the old smoke. Spelling out TIZER, the green,yellow and gold metallic-looking fill is given depth by the cleverly lined 3D shadow. Nice too be able to share this one from Tizer, an artist that when I originally saw this was completely off my radar (living in the provices as I do).
I think that my favourite festival artist at Upfest 2016 was this gentleman, Feoflip. I managed to catch him working on his ‘official’ piece although never saw it completed, which is a real pity and possibly the reason I never posted this before.
The reason I liked him so much was probably down to the unofficial ‘extras’ that he painted during his stay all over the city. The style is so different from anything we are used to seeing and he truly entered into the spirit of the Bristol street art scene. I would love to see him return and bless us with more of his outstanding work. Some of the pieces he painted are shown below:
Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, November 2017
Feoflip, Little Paradise, Bristol July 2017
Feoflip, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2016
Feoflip, Welsh Back, Bristol, October 2016
Feoflip, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2016
Feoflip, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
Feoflip, City Road, Bristol, August 2016
Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, August 2016
Feoflip, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Another throwback to Upfest 2016 and this lovely Minion piece by The Agent. Not only is The Agent a street artist and regular at Upfest, but he is also a central part of the ‘on the ground’ logistics team for the event and can be seen pretty much everywhere at the festival checking things are going smoothly.
The Agent, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Known for his Minion pieces (from the film Despicable Me), he is also the father of another prominent Bristol street artist. This piece typifies his strong links with the festival and screams out fun. A nice piece.
Like many of these archive posts from Upfests passim, it is hard to understand why I haven’t posted this one from SkyHigh and Roo before. I can only think that it is because I never got a clean shot of the finished collaboration.
SkyHigh and Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
These two London-based artists collaborate often, and where you find a SkyHigh piece, there is usually a Roo piece nearby. I took these pictures just as Roo (who previously I have assigned a male gender – dammit) was putting the finishing touches to her work. I suspect the lower right hand quadrant is not quite finished in these pictures.
SkyHigh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
The SkyHigh half of the collaboration spells out SKY in his characteristic variety of block letters, each different from the next, and the colours used here are incredibly bright and cheerful. This is first class graffiti writing.
Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Roo has painted what I think is a dog, but looks a lot like a moose without antlers to me. The mischievous character has been spraying the letters Roo in magenta paint on the wall behind – a nice idea executed really well. This is a fine collaboration and I can only apologise for not sharing it before. (lots more apologies to come as I continue to scour the archives).
Somehow, since the lock down I have a lot less free time than I had before, which feels rather counter-intuitive. I am still working full time, only at home and mostly on Covid-19 communications. The kids are at home all the time and there is no respite from looking after them 24/7. The dog still needs walks. My wife too is working full time at home and occupies the study to work, which is where our main computer resides, and all my associated street art files etc.
The upshot is that I am writing these posts in the few minutes I can when my wife takes a shower in the morning. I am on leave next week, and might be able to write a whole bunch of posts to get a little bit ahead. I don’t like flying by the seat of my pants.
Rusk, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
This is a stunning piece from the perfectionist Rusk on the RAW wall at Upfest 2016. I consider this to be an outstanding piece of writing and somehow Rusk, using highlights, has managed to create a metallic effect, so the whole thing looks like the side of a car or something like that. I can’t understand why I’ve not posted this before. Worth the wait.
The Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent UK lock down has unsurprisingly seen a dramatic decrease in new street work. This, while disappointing especially given the spell of gorgeous weather we have been having, is not all bad news, as it is giving me the opportunity to unearth some not-seen-before on Natural Adventures pieces from the archives. Starting with this spray can bin stencil from John D’oh at Upfest 2016.
John D’oh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
The organisers of Upfest had provided these drums for artists to dispose of their spray cans in an orderly fashion, and in true Upfest style, selected a few artists to decorate the bins, This one by John D’oh. I have to say I am not entirely sure who the people on the bin are, but I love the stencils in any case. In Bristolian he has written ‘John D’oh’s bin yer’, which tickled me. More Upfest 2016 work to come.
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