Computer-screen grey
skies mirror the drudgery
of working at home.
by Scooj
1990. Upfest 2018 (126)
One of the more obviously striking and describable pieces of Upfest 2018 was this interesting hand speaker by Agent Provocateur. It is weird but whenever I look at it I find it very hard not to see the Northern Ireland flag, which is rather distracting.
This is a simple and quite challenging piece with an element of edge or threat combined with humour and general oddness. I’m not sure why there is so much damage to the right hand side board, but I think the artist could have tidied it up a little bit. Maybe I photographed it before completion. A memorable piece.
1989. Upfest 2018 (125)
Nevla was late to the party at Upfest 2018 and as a result I didn’t manage to get a final picture of his rather cookie panda. On the upside though I did at last get to meet the elusive cartoon king of Bristol street art, and what a nice fellow he is too.
I made a few notes on my iPhone about our conversation, but unfortunately I lost them when the motherboard gave up a few weeks ago. A quiet class act who seems to enjoy painting alone, Nevla adds something to the Bristol scene that is unerringly optimistic, which is a tonic when so much around us is in utter chaos.
Neither one thing…
.
Cold but not so cold
Europe but not so Europe
this is the UK.
by Scooj
1988. Upfest 2018 (124)
Just opposite the Tobacco Factory in Raleigh Road Justinks painted this captivating tiger with an interesting twist. He describes his art as surrealism and biorealism, and although I think the latter might be a made up word, it certainly works when explaining this piece.
Justinks is based in Malta and works as a tattoo artist (the crossover between the two disciplines is remarkable), but since 2011 he made the decision to go big and create some large street art pieces – a great decision in my mind. It is difficult to know what to make of the subject of this piece due to its distortion of the familiar, there is no doubting the talent of the artist though. Great work.
1987. Upfest 2018 (123)
This stunning shutter piece is by Sake One, a West Coast (USA) artist who has been spraying since the early eighties and was greatly involved with the hip hop culture in San Diego during his youth. There is a thorough biography of the artist on the Upfest website, which is worth a read.
The piece itself is a highly accomplished work, as you’d expect from an artist of this calibre. The profile of the girl is sensitively painted and blends perfectly with the subtle writing to its right. The tragedy of shutter pieces is that they are rarely seen during daylight hours, even at weekends when so many shops seem to be open…not like in the old days!
1986. Upfest 2018 (122)
One of the first pieces that I recall from Upfest 2018 is this magnificent hummingbird by L7M, a very well-known artist originally from São Paolo who first picked up a can at the tender age of 13. Obviously practice makes perfect.
The vibrancy and movement in ther piece is remarkable, and the hummingbird itself is absolutely stunning. L7M was one of the featured artists last year and we certainly got our money’s worth as he did another excellent piece a little further down North Street (to follow).
1985. Upfest 2018 (121)
Many years ago I recorded a Supertramp concert from the the TV, using a cassette recorder and microphone pointed at the TV speaker…it was how we did things in those days. My brother was having a small party of teenage friends on the same evening, so my recording was polluted with the sounds of a party going on in the background. When I played the recording back, I heard one of my brother’s friends exclaim ‘wow wee!’ at the start of one of the songs (he obviously liked it), and to this day, I can still hear that boy’s voice in my head, and do so every time I say wow wee. This digression is relevant only in that when I saw this brilliant piece by Peter Sheridan at last year’s Upfest, the voice in my head said ‘wow wee!’.
This was absolutely one of my firm favourites from the festival. There is so much to like… the composition, the colours, the perspective and the brilliant execution. Even the observation of how the bark on this particular type of tree looks (similar to a silver birch or cherry bark). An absolute belter, and for comparison, I have included his unflattering but brilliant piece depicting Teresa May (boo) and Pokeman Go in 2016.
Letting go
I’m attached to things
because of what, when or who
they remind me of.
by Scooj
1984. Stokes Croft, Turbo Island (3)
Turbo Island has taken on a new lease of life since the PRSC (the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft) and associates tidied things up here. They should be really proud of the work they have done to set this wall up as a viable curated street art spot. Just look at this amazing montage of an old Sepr piece on the right, some monstrous advertising hoarding and an extraordinary collaboration by Soap, Hazard and Tasha Bee below it.
The collaboration itself is nicely balanced and colourful and combines three distinct but complementary styles.
Starting on the left is an interesting combination from Soap and Tasha Bee, who are collaborating a great deal at the moment. It is great to see Tasha Bee working on a different design, this time a rather pretty stylised cat.
In the centre of the collaboration is a magnificent grayscale portrait by Hazard…have I said yet how great it is to have her back in Bristol creating these beautiful artworks around the place? And those flowers and cacti bring an exotic touch and richness to the piece.
Finally, on the right hand side of the collaboration is a trademark Tasha Bee portrait looking on with deep serenity. This is how a great wall should look, and well done to the three artists who do so much to uplift the streets of Bristol.
Natural adventures 