Anti-style – Natural adventures

7883. Cumberland Basin

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

A quick jaunt back into my June archive revealed this beauty from Solar on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. I would offer my subjective view and say that Solar’s work this year has risen to the next level, and he is turning out some outstanding work.

Solar’s unusual and anti-style work is perversely becoming quite conventional, simply because he has established himself and made a mark. This is no bad thing, because he retains his identity and developing style. In this wonderfully fragmented piece, the outline is incomplete, and the fills drift way beyond the boundaries. A sense of order is maintained by the pink and magenta decorations that have stuck to the script and frame the piece beautifully. Cool work.

7865. Cumberland Basin

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

Although we have had an exceptional summer, it has at times simply been too hot and unnaturally so. The wall to wall sunshine experienced in late June, July and early August has also let to a disproportionate number of my photographs featuring disruptive shadows, about which I cabn do very little. The shadow on this lovely piece by Taboo gets to me every time I look at it.

The piece appears to be a tribute to… Taboo (There is a number 25, and I wonder if that reflects 25 years of graffiti writing). The letters are made up of the letters TABOO, creating a larger TABOO and incorporating some train carriages and the words ‘Train maximalist’. All a little bit confusing. The whole thing though is great to look at and set on a buffed background. Gotta love those drips.

7859. Greenbank (190)

Whenever I find a Taboo piece I always know to expect the unexpected. His anti-style approach means that conventions and regularity are thrown out of the window and you have to invest in his work and trust the process. If you submit to his style, rather than try to fight against it, it all becomes so much more enjoyable – which could be said for graffiti writing more generally.

These single colour cartoonish letters with a deep drop shadow in the same colour are accompanied by a little crocodile character at the right hand side. Some little white accent spots and crocodile teeth lift the piece with subtlety and skill. The piece is accompanied with the words ‘make it snappy’ a phrase that rounds off the joke that begins ‘give me a crocodile sandwich…’. A fine but of fun from Taboo.

7817. Temple Way (6)

This piece by Taboo has been around for ages, years. It took me a long time finally to photograph it, and then a long time to post it, but at last I have managed to do it. It is on a hoarding on a main road without parking, and I drive past it every time I go to Temple Meads Station.

Taboo’s antistyle letters, unusually not spelling out his name, are accompanied by a Disney like wolf with multiple exaggerated eyes. It is all a bit odd, verging on disturbing, but actually just very typical of Taboo. So glad I got round to it before it and the hoardings go.

7800. Goodneston Road (2)

Zeks, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026

Expect a torrent of pieces from the three hoardings in Fishponds that I recently discovered – there are so many great pieces there, adding to my already ridiculous backlog. This is a beauty from Zeks, who has a unique style, in which the unpainted space does a lot of his talking, although in this piece his lettering is larger than usual.

The letters spell ZEKS and although quite neat and tidy, don’t really conform to any particular regular font or size, putting his work into the category of anti-style. His colour palette of reds, pinks and purples is a good one, and the letters are augmented with a ball and stick design around the piece, looking like a molecular model. All good stuff.

7784. Sparke Evans Park (158)

Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2026

I am enjoying Solar’s ‘renaissance’ very much. In recent months there appears to have been an upwards shift in the quality of and confidence in his work. He has always had a recognisable style, and now he appears to be firming it up and creating consistent excellence.

This is a lovely tribute piece to Paroe on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park, which must be an anniversary piece a year or so on from the original tribute wall. The anti-style writing, spelling PAROE is painted in beautifully blended yellow and turquoise colours, presented on a neutral beige background. There is some nice marbling and detailing throughout the piece, which is a fine tribute to a popular artist who is obviously much missed.

7776. M32 Cycle path (316)

Hugs, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2026

I know that I have quite a few pieces by Hugs in my archives, which I will have to dig out. Hugs’ work has some similarities with Dog Bless the Band, in that the anti-style writing is made up of large conjoined letters, filling the space, with fine details subtlely scattered around.

In this piece, which Hugs has annotated with the words ‘Vein melter’, the fill is like a blended wash of orange and light brown, with what look like inky doodles dotted about. I imagine that if Gerald Scarfe were to write graffiti, it might look a little bit like this. There is something about Hugs’ work that I find quite compelling – nice one.

7773. Cumberland Basin

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

This is a brilliant piece of anti-style graffiti writing from Taboo, which demonstrates clearly how interconnected and varied the art world is. The piece is a touching tribute to David Hockney, whose own unconventional style won over the public’s imagination and whose legacy will forever influence artists worldwide.

Taboo’s unconventional green letters sit on a pink background, but it is the scene inside the second ‘O’ that steals the show. There is a little pastiche of a swimming pool and diving-board, a theme so familiar in many of Hockney’s paintings. Such a lovely idea and tribute to pay. Bravo!

7759. Montpelier Park

Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2026

More unusual and compelling graffiti writing from Solar, who is on a great run of form at the moment. This little park in Montpelier, has a wall which can hold 2-3 pieces, and although a little bit out of the way is always worth a look if passing, because it is possible to find the odd gem there. This is one of those.

These anti-style letters in green and brown/orange spell SOLAR, with the ‘R’ following the rise in the bank to the right. The observant among you might notice a second piece by the artist in the top left of the pictures – two for the price of one. This piece is similar to one he painted in Sparke Evans Park and which I featured recently. The ‘S’ having the same characteristic panel on it. More nice work from Solar.

Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2026

7757. Dean Lane skate park (932)

I have recently been having a virtual conversation with Taboo, and it is great to have a bit more of a connection with the artist. Over the last couple of months, I have found a stack of old pieces by Taboo, and he has been painting quite regularly, so I have a lot of catching up to do with his work.

This is a perfect example of Taboo’s anti-style graffiti writing, and this might be a good time to offer a definition of what anti-style means:

A rebellious sub-genre that rejects traditional graffiti rules like legible letterforms, flow, and colour theory.

The pink letters here spell out TABOO, and, consistent with a lot of his writing, his letters have a midline running through them giving them a bit of a 3D lift. A nice piece that might be inaccessible to some, but is a fine work in my eyes.

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