Tag: About Ponny

2430. Upfest 2018 (152)

I think that this is the fifth stencil/wheatpaste by About Ponny that I have posted from Upfest 2018 and in my mind every single one of them is a belter. In each it is both the skill of the work and positioning and the extraordinary content that makes these outstanding wheatpastes.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

About Ponny has a knack of portraying human pain and suffering without sentiment or compassion. These are raw pieces which strike at your heart and made even more effective by their low-key sitings. I had not been aware of About Ponny’s work before Upfest 2018, but on the back of these have become a big fan.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

2047. Upfest 2018 (149)

I love wheatpastes (in case you hadn’t noticed) and at Upfest 2018 we were blessed with a series of poignant and thought provoking stencil paste ups by About Ponny. I was particularly moved by these small scenes, each one depicting the marginalised or forgotten, the vulnerable or neglected.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This one, produced in sepia tones, shows two small children sheltering under a small basket, and has overtones of iconic images from the Vietnam or Cambodian conflicts. There is so much emotion and sadness and pity captured in this image. Really, truly this is an outstanding piece of art.

1948. Upfest 2018 (122)

About Ponny left us a few of his poignant wheatpastes about the place during Upfest, of which this is the third I have posted. All of them have featured subjects who have hit upon hard times. The beautiful stencils in dark tones highlighted with copper have a sad but gentle feel to them and they are full of pathos.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I am full of admiration for the work of this Italian artist, and how, in a quiet and subtle way, he reflects the troubles of our age of austerity and economic struggles. No fuss, no ranting, simply an honest portrayal.

1844. Upfest 2018 (85)

About Ponny is an artist I had not come across before Upfest 2018 and what a wonderful set of wheatpastes he left for us to admire this year. This is the second one I have posted, and like the first it best described as poignant.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

There is a sadness, but also a really touching humanity about this piece, and the tones used for the stencil work give the whole wheatpaste a sombre and yet very powerful presence. I can honestly say that About Ponny was probably my favourite discovery of Upfest 2018 – now I just need to travel around a bit to find more of his great work.

1731. Upfest 2018 (42)

I approached Upfest on the Saturday morning from East Street and as I was at that end of Bedminster, dived into Dean Lane skate park because it is always busy with ‘fringe’ festival art, and by that I mean it is not all entirely official. This is one such stencil work by About Ponny, an artist not known to me before…I have immediately become a fan.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

About Ponny is a highly skilled stencil artist from Bologna in Italy and I found a short biography on his Facebook page which I have translated from the Italian using Google translate. It reads as follows:

Ponny was born in Bologna one evening after dinner.

Single, but only in the name, because always accompanied; for this reason it has no gender.

Son of a game between friends and of the passion for art, in all its forms, as long as expression and creativity, incessant source of emotion.

In continuous search for balance on the edge of legality, the road torments him, the only place to express himself!

This work, in  my mind, is stencil work of the highest calibre. The subject is touching and soulful, the execution brilliant, the colour scheme has an earthy and innocent quality and the location is brilliant. One of the best ‘unofficial’ Upfest 2018 pieces.