1892. Shoreditch, London (10)

In a little side street/yard off Brick Lane there is a derelict area which is a bit of a street art oasis. On the passageway into the area is this magnificent piece by Envol, which is quite different from anything else there.

Envol, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Envol, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

I have come across Envol a couple of times at Upfest in Bristol, so it was great to see something by him outside of the festival context. His highly designed ‘classical’ pieces are simply presented but nicely framed with strong shapes and colours.

Envol, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Envol, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

When I first saw this piece I thought it had been dogged at the base of the skull, but on closer inspection and a quick squint at the Artist’s Instagram it seems that this is a deliberate technique that he adopts from time to time. It is a good feeling once again to stumble upon art in unfamiliar surroundings that I am familiar with.

1891. Shoreditch, London (9)

I really did get lucky on my recent trip to Shoreditch with fresh pieces, and this is a lovely new one from Osch. The artist is known for two main presentations of his art, this theme of orange circles with silhouetted scenes, usually with a clever take, and his characters (often animals) created from ribbons (not real ribbons you understand).

Osch, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Osch, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

In this piece it seems the crows are having some kind of revenge moment as a drone is contained within a cage. This is a thoughtful and distinctive piece and so wonderfully crisp, sharp and fresh. I love his work…I think he needs to come to Bristol again.

Osch, the Stables, Camden Town, September 2016
Osch, the Stables, Camden Town, September 2016
Osch, Hawley Street, Camden, September 2016
Osch, Hawley Street, Camden, September 2016

 

1890. Shoreditch, London (8)

One of the things I love most about seeing street art in other cities is when I see a piece by an I am familiar with – it gives me that warm glow of conceit, and so it was when I saw this lovely burner by Bristol’s Voyder.

Voyder, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Voyder, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

The last piece I saw by Voyder was at Upfest back in July, so to find this one in Shoreditch was definitely a special moment. This is such a clever piece, I cannot really do it justice in any explanation, but I will try. Everything you see is utterly deliberate – the blurring of the letters and the drips and splashes, what makes this extra special is how Voyder has created this with extreme skill in blending the colours through the piece and making the whole thing look a bit amateurish. To the trained eye, this is utterly brilliant, to others it might just look a bit rubbish.

Longing

 

I long for the spring

the lengthening of the days

and the warming sun.

 

by Scooj

1889. Shoreditch, London (7)

Wowzer, this is a wonderful piece by Sr.X in Shoreditch on the wall of the Village Underground. I have seen work by the artist before in London, but didn’t know that he was Spanish and the Sr stands for Senor. I found this out by reading the informative blog by Jenikya, which features this and other pieces I will need to know about for my own posts, which is most helpful.

Sr.X, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Sr.X, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

It would appear that I got lucky as the piece was reasonably new and only painted at the beginning of November. This has humour and a strong retro feel to it. I think I would include the word ‘zany’ and perhaps even reference Terry Gilliam, the illustrator and animator (and film director) from Monty Python as a possible influence.

Sr.X, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Sr.X, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

This is a huge piece, an impressive wall and for a day-tripper a wholly satisfying work that would have been worth the trip to London on its own.

Sr. X, Camden Town, London, November 2017
Sr. X, Camden Town, London, November 2017

1888. Shoreditch, London (6)

I had to go to London a couple of weekends back for an important event at the Science Museum on a Monday morning, so I travelled up on the Sunday to stay with my sister in Stoke Newington. I arrived early on the Sunday (I had planned this) and decided to walk from  my sister’s to Brick Lane in Shoreditch. I walked for more than fifteen miles over about five hours and took just shy of 500 pictures. I was treated to some astonishing street art, and this is the first of several posts from that trip. I hope you enjoy these pieces as much as I did.

Lovepusher and Mr Cenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Lovepusher and Mr Cenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

This first piece was one of several huge murals by pairs of artists on a theme of connections or connectivity organised by Global Street Art. This was a pairing of Lovepusher and Mr Cenz. I have never seen  the work of Lovepusher before – he painted the ‘Future’ 3D sphere – but Mr Cenz’s work is very familiar and can be found all over the Shoreditch area.

Mr Cenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Mr Cenz, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

I am a little out of my depth with London artists or the London scene and leave the detail about these pieces to bloggers much better placed to do it such as London Calling. I will post more from this wall at a later date.

Mr Cenz, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016
Mr Cenz, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016

 

Homeless

Baccy tin open

in front of her cold crossed legs

shelter for small coins.

by Scooj

1887. Dean Lane skate park (177)

So here he is again, popping up in Dean Lane, the man with the best graff name ever, Stupid Stupid Meathole. Here he presents us with yet another grotesque image all pink and fleshy with eyes and teeth.

Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2018

I don’t think that his subjects could be described as monsters, rather they resemble human body parts that have been placed in a blender and scrambled for a moment or two before being slapped onto a wall. A very different and creative idea going on here. All good fun.

1886. Dean Lane skate park (176)

It is big, and pink and bold and probably the largest ‘Seismic’ that I have seen from Jee See (Goshiku Chavu). This simple but impactful piece is on one of my favourite walls in Bristol in Dean Lane skate park.

Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2018
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2018

Jee See already knows that I am a big fan of his work and his relentless pursuit to find walls to leave his work and messages. He is always pushing the boundaries with his themed work and also on his Instagram feed which hosts so many photoshopped images and sketches. Seismic!

1885. We the Curious (2)

It is great to see that VisitBristol (the local tourist authority) is putting its weight behind the creative arts, in particular street art, by commissioning this mural on one of the walls of We the Curious (formerly @Bristol). The idea behind the mural is to increase visits to the city over the Christmas period to boost tourism as this little YouTube video shows.

Silent Hobo and Cheo, We the Curious, Bristol, November 2018
Silent Hobo and Cheo, We the Curious, Bristol, November 2018

The artists chosen for the commission are Cheo and Silent Hobo, both of whom have featured on these pages many, many times before. Here they combine to produce this sumptuous Bristol-themed Christmas mural with a whole ton of identifiable Bristol icons.

Silent Hobo, We the Curious, Bristol, November 2018
Silent Hobo, We the Curious, Bristol, November 2018

The left hand side of the mural is mostly the work of Silent Hobo and features the aquarium, the ice rink, the cathedral and harbourside among other things and in the foreground we have a few bristol carol singers representing the two (rival) football teams.

Cheo, We the Curious, Bristol, November 2018
Cheo, We the Curious, Bristol, November 2018

On the right Cheo’s mural includes the Clifton suspension bridge, the zoo, the Christmas market, the M Shed and Isembard Kingdom Brunel (the greatest ever Englishman). The whole thing is surrounded with a golden frame and the whole thing is rather delicious.

Given that street art and graffiti are part of the USP for Bristol, I would love to see VisitBristol and the Council do more of this kind of thing in recognition of the street artists who bring free art to the city rather than locking it down, for example in The Bearpit.

#MerryBristmas