Deep winter decay
from which all life emerges;
faintest hint of spring.
by Scooj
1231. Leake Street tunnel, London (5)
One of the pleasures of writing about street/graffiti art and seeking out new sites is finding something there that you recognise. Feeling knowledgeable about something is very empowering and comforting, and we could all do with a bit of empowering and comfort from time to time. For me this happened when I saw this Chinagirl Tile piece in Leake Street just before Christmas.
I have always had a soft spot for her work, and this very dangerous bunny is one of my favourite tiles she has produced. There is one in Bristol that I blogged about last year. I noticed that of the numerous ‘street art tourists’ who entered the tunnel from this entrance, none that I saw stopped or appeared to notice this rabbit, such was their eagerness to descend into the bowels of Leake Street. For me, street art is not just about the blindingly obvious, it is about subtlety, style, class and placement, much of which is lost on many people. This links to a theme I have mentioned many times in Natural Adventures, and that is that many of us look, but don’t see. Look harder and you might see a rabbit clutching a grenade. Watch out!
Thursday doors
Door 14
I forget exactly where in New York this door was, but I think it was in the East Village area.
Artist: Bradley Theodore (Theodoor)
by Scooj
1230. Leake Street tunnel, London (4)
Over the Christmas break, I took a train from Waterloo to Woking to visit the inlaws. I allowed myself some extra time to take a quick look at the graffiti art in Leake Street tunnel which runs under Waterloo Station. There was a great deal of wildstyle writing which I was not familiar with – London art is still a bit of a mystery to me – but I did recognise a couple of pieces by Sky High, of which this is one.
I know his work from visits he has made to Bristol in the past to Moon Street, Magdalen Place and Dean Lane. The piece features his characteristic block lettering in multiple styles and a curious snake at the left hand end. I have to say I am not sure about the snake, it is incongruous and I think the piece would be better without it. Maybe that is just me though.
1229. Brunel Way bridge (4)
Another piece from the ASK Halloween paint jam under Brunel Way. This is exceptional work from the exceptional Sled One with an interesting story woven into his wildstyle writing.
On the left there appears to be a snail-like character and on the right a Grim Reaper figure that is making for the terrified looking snail (can a snail look terrified?). Meanwhile, Sled One has incorporated the letters SLED into the piece with artistry and skill.
Once again we see this master sprayer at his very best, creating a whole world in a space 3m x 2m. Incredible really.
Easy to forget
Exquisite beauty
I see it all around me;
a wonderful world.
by Scooj
1228. Dean Lane skate park (99)
Clearly very excited about the release of the recent Star Wars movie (and who wouldn’t be?), it would appear that Soker, who usually writes his name, may have been inspired to spray this R2D2 piece. It is possible there is more to it than that, but it matters not, this is a brilliant clean piece.
On one of the feature walls at Dean Lane, this piece works beautifully, the proportions are all nicely done and the colours assembled well. The piece also generated some good banter on his Instagram account with his stablemates Cheo and Voyder (Darth Voyder).
All great fun.
1227. Ashley Road (16)
This is the second piece by Fiva (Fiver) to appear on this hoarding in recent weeks, the first was featured in a post recently and that one was the first work I have seen from this artist in a while. It seems he is on a roll, and that his inspiration would appear to have come from (I think) recently becoming a father.
I do like these kind of writing pieces which conflate words and styles to create a layered puzzle. This is accomplished work from a good artist, and I’d like to see more of his work on the streets – as a new father though I expect his opportunities might be limited.
Dog day
Let sleeping dogs lie
no cat nap for the canine;
totally crashed out.
by Scooj
1226. Wilder Street (21)
Wilder street is home to some of the best walls in Bristol, but the turnover here is not as high as in other parts of Bristol. I think it is because some of the walls are curated and pieces left on show for longer.
This is an interesting work by Laic217, who appears to have dropped his activity of late. I expect it is better viewed through 3D glasses, although I am never quite sure if artwork like this is done simply to give the effect of a 3D piece or if they actually work as well.
I love the way his signature is cleverly worked into the elbow of the skeleton character. Now where are those cardboard glasses?
Natural adventures 