Bringing up the 150 mark for Upfest 2017 (roughly half way through!) is this striking mural by Kristx. Again, this is another piece that I never got to see in its finished state, which is a real pity, because it looks magnificent…a bold and captivating work.
Kristx, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Her biography in the Upfest programme is comprehensive, but also suffers a little from translation issues, alternating his and hers throughout. She is French, self taught and has been spraying full time for four years. More of her work can be seen on her Facebook stream, well worth a visit.
Kristx, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Another artist who it would be great to welcome this year. I am not sure if she applied or was accepted/
What a brilliant piece this is from Cheo, the largest of several walls from the artist at Upfest featurig the animation character Morph. In this piece Morph is joined by his erstwhile partner in crime Chas.
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
My favourite part of this wall though is not the two characters in the foreground, but the gallery of bristol artists behind them. Morph originated on a television programme for children called Vision On, and one section of the show was dedicated to ‘the gallery’ which showed paintings that had been sent in by children, accompanied by great music, that all children of my generation would recognise instantly.
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Cheo’s hilarious take on the Vision On gallery features several well known Bristol street artists with his take on their entries, knowing what he knows about their styles now. very funny.
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
In the piece he honours Andy Council (dinosaur), Soker ( a little girl), Voyder (a unicorn), 45RPM (an owl), 3Dom (a castle), Inkie (a Wallace and Gromit), Cheo (a bee) and Chelway (a whale). Poking fun at his mates.
When I took the picture of this door last October, I was simply capturing an interesting image of street art on a door, nothing more nothing less.
It turns out that there is a lot more to this door that I had thought, which I only found out about when researching for this post. The door is the entrance to Clayton Patterson’s gallery on 161 Essex Street on the lower East Side of NYC.
This is Portal number 7 of an interactive street art experience combining technology, art, urban space and community called ‘13 Portals‘. The project team have created an incredible ‘gamified’ experience that encourages participants to complete tasks and unlock the knowledge of the ancients. The door used to have a QR code in the white space at the bottom that linked up to the experience website.
I’m not sure when all this took place, possibly 2017, but it all looks rather complicated to me. I was just interested in the door.
The artwork itself appears to have ‘borrowed’ a little bit from the Terminator films and combines a skull with features relating to the number seven. This is what the website has to say about this door:
‘The number 7 is Saturn. It is death and transcendence. It is the seven colors of the rainbow, the seven western notes and the seven days of the week. 7. Seven is an exceptionally powerful number and also one of the biggest keys to the mystery. Each color, note or planet, represents a different perspective that we can seek to achieve awareness, clarity and enlightenment. It is the metaphor for the different races and the conflicts before they ultimately find harmony.’
So there you have it, perhaps we shouldn’t simply take things at face value, even a door.
As with many of the pieces from the Aston Gate site at Upfest, I never got a picture of this completed work by London-based artist Woskerski.
Woskerski, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I have seen and posted a piece of his from Leake Street tunnel in London about a year or so ago but have not seen any more of his work since, so it was great to see this photorealistic piece at Upfest.
Woskerski, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Adjacent to the face wearing the 3D specs Woskerski has added some wildstyle writing, which demonstrates the versatility of this artist, who also paints under the name Methyl. Just a pity I didn’t get a final shot.
I am not sure that Annatomix sprayed a wall or board at last year’s festival, and if she did, I didn’t see it. However, she did leave a couple of nice paste ups for us to enjoy.
Annatomix, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
This super wheatpaste features a fox and rabbit created in the unique ‘paper-fold’ style that Annatomix likes to use in her painting too.
Annatomix, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
This is one of the things I love about Upfest…all the ‘unofficial’ offerings from great artists.
One of the wildest pieces of Upfest 2017 was this great work from the Goopmassta, who himself was one of the most colourful characters. A visitor from the United States who came over to Bristol with a loose posse of other artists.
Goopmassta, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Unfortunately, as with many pieces in Ashton Gate, I didn’t get a clean shot of the finished piece, but even from the featured image you can get a feel for this free and happy piece.
Goopmassta, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The style of the piece is really rather seductive and eyecatching, and I can almost imagine the character being some kind of central figure in a children’s book…with a little bit of edge. Really nice work.
It was impossible to ignore this extraordinary face by Rast ot Upfest 2017. Situated on the long hoardings at Ashton Gate, the bright colours and striking face drew you in.
Rast, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Originally from Spain, Rast has been living in Bristol in 2014. I must say that I have not come across his work before, but surely would lioke to see more of it in the various locations around Bristol that I vsist.
On the news that the last male northern white rhinoceros was put down yesterday he is survived by his daughter and granddaughter. His passing is a loss that is emblematic and the world will feel a little bit less complete. A sad day indeed.
Natural adventures 