Tag: Armada Place

Thursday doors

Door 36

I missed my first Thursday doors last week since I began 37 weeks ago. Just a little too much on my plate.

This week I was sifting through my archives when I found this door, which I have been looking for for a long time. I knew I had it, but I just didn’t know where.

Door, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2016
Door, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2016

The door in question, Number 5, has undergone many facelifts over the last few years of which I think this was the best. Currently it is free from graffiti and I think the owner is trying to keep the door and walls clean. It will be an uphill struggle, but I genuinely wish them luck. I don’t much favour graffiti on private property.

I think the owner at the time might have painted these pineapples as a way of discouraging graffiti, and it certainly worked for a while. Some (many) taggers have no respect though. The pineapples made me smile though. I am glad I found them again.

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

 

 

 

1138. Armada Place (11)

The board has been nicely grey washed, making it a perfect backdrop for this superb clean piece of wildstyle writing from Subtle. It has been a little while since I saw anything by him, but this is one of at least two recent works I know about.

Subtle, Armada Place, Bristol, November 2017
Subtle, Armada Place, Bristol, November 2017

It is always nice to se his work on the streets, it keeps things fresh. In my view, this is a very classy piece of writing. I hope it is the beginning of many more pieces from another one of bristol’s talented pool of graffiti writers.

994. Armada Place (12)

Looking back a little to July, I came across this weird and wonderful piece from Thelochnessmonster tucked away on the long-term hoardings in Armada Place – a favourite haunt of this particular graffiti artist.

Thelochnessmonster, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2017
Thelochnessmonster, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2017

As with all his pieces, there is quite a lot of symbolism, much of which is quite mysterious. I’m not entirely sure what the spheres being held by the monster’s tentacles actually represent, but they are important to the piece as a whole.

Thelochnessmonster, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2017
Thelochnessmonster, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2017

Thelochnessmonster has such a distinctive style, and one that is very different from any of the other artists on the Bristol scene. I think the best word to describe his work is ‘organic’, it is a far cry from the highly geometric/designed pieces that we see more frequently in the city. Another interesting piece.

961. Armada Place (11)

There are some well-worn hoardings in Armada Place which appear to be a favourite site for Thelochnessmonster. In my experience, much of what goes up here tends to get tagged or dogged pretty quickly, so it is always nice to get a complete piece.

Thelochnessmonster, Armada Place, Bristol, August 2017
Thelochnessmonster, Armada Place, Bristol, August 2017

Please don’t ask me what is going on in this piece, it looks complicated, but I think there is a protest behind it all somewhere. On his Instagram feed Thelochnessmonster labels the picture ‘back 2 basics’, which is a bit cryptic for those not in the know.

The use of so few colours works really well for this piece and he manages to blend characters with abstract shapes and squiggles with skill. I like the piece…it leaves me wanting to know more.

758. Armada Place (10)

Well this is a bright wall from Laic217 and Hire. Regular readers will be familiar with the work of Laic217, as I tend to feature a piece by him almost every week, however this is the first work by Hire that I have posted.

Laic217, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017
Laic217, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017

I think that this is another of those painting together walls rather than a collaboration per se. There is an element of sequence between the two pieces, but the main link is the background wash selected, and the skeleton spraying on the Hire piece.

Laic217, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017
Laic217, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017

No major surprises from Laic217, but consistent with his progress over the last year, the quality of his pieces improves with each work.

Hire, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017
Hire, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017

I know very little about Hire, except that I am certain I have pictures of other work he has done in my archive. I will try and dig some out if I can. This is a lovely wildstyle piece, with some similarities to the style used by Dibz. A great combination.

Sorry to say that I returned a few days later and the whole thing has been obliterated with this:

Throw up over Laic217 and Hire, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017
Throw up over Laic217 and Hire, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2017

560. Armada Place (9)

Well this pair is a rather good collaboration of wildstyle writing from Whysayit and Nero. Whysayit’s work can be found dotted all over Bristol, and as well as these more elaborate burners, he does his fair share of tagging too. The colours are very easy on the eye and the translucent effect really clever.

Whysayit, Armada Place, Bristol, December 2016
Whysayit, Armada Place, Bristol, December 2016
I have seen a few of Whysayit’s pieces, but this is the first I have seen of Nero, and I have not been able to find out any more that I can add to this post, having trawled the Interweb. In time I will have more to report.

Whysayit, Armada Place, Bristol, December 2016
Whysayit, Armada Place, Bristol, December 2016
In my view, this is top drawer graffiti writing, but by many it will be discarded, overlooked or disapproved of. That is the nature of urban art.

Nero, Armada Place, Bristol, December 2016
Nero, Armada Place, Bristol, December 2016

504. Armada Place (4)

Some more writing today, this time from one of the less prominent graffiti artists in Bristol, ‘Subtle’. On first appearance this looks like quite a raw piece of work and could easily be missed, but on closer inspection, it is a fine sophisticated piece of writing.

Subtle, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2016
Subtle, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2016
Nothing much lasts very long on these hoardings, and I would guess that I only ever capture about 20% of what appears here, which gives you some idea of the volume of spraying that happens every week across Bristol…certainly way too much to write about it all. I am pleased to have photographed this when I did though.

380. Armada Place (6)

The fencing in Armada Place is a hotspot that is slightly off the beaten track, and can easily be missed. I make a point of taking the short diversion away from Stokes Croft on my way to work, to be able to capture gems like this one by Fois (Kleiner Shames).

Kleiner Shames, Armada Place, Bristol, August 2016
Kleiner Shames, Armada Place, Bristol, August 2016

It feels like Fois has become a little more active recently, or maybe I am just finding more of his wildstyle pieces. I don’t know, but I always feel good when I come across one for the first time. I like the way that he disguises the name Fois just enough to make it hard for the ‘untrained’ eye to read. This is really a wonderful piece that he calls ‘a quick one’.

Kleiner Shames, Armada Place, Bristol, August 2016
Kleiner Shames, Armada Place, Bristol, August 2016

Only recently I found out that Fois is actually Kleiner Shames – a rather respectable looking designer. It irks me that by calling him Fois all this time I look like a bit of an idiot. I suppose it is all part of being on the outside looking in.

331. Armada Place (5)

Well I said that Aspire had done a fish, and here it is in all its splendour. I like his work, all of it, and as a marine biologist I have to say I particularly like this one. I must confess I am not too sure what kind of fish it is, but I am not too bothered. It is a fish.

Aspire, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2016
Aspire, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2016

I would like to see more fish from Aspire, but perhaps not if it is at the expense of his birds which are truly spectacular – I still have a backlog of his birds to write about!

Aspire, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2016
Aspire, Armada Place, Bristol, July 2016

I noticed in the Upfest map that he will be at the festival this year. I will try to catch up with him if I can. Audubon in New York awaits.

222. Armada Place (3)

One of Sled One’s incredible wildstyle pieces. He sprays these unimaginably quickly, and I consider him to be very talented. One of the best writers in Bristol who is both energetic and prolific. This can be found in Armada Place, parallel with Stokes Croft, and just around the corner from the Fois piece on Nine Tree Hill.

Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2016
Sled One, Armada Place, Bristol, April 2016

When you get your eye in with these wildstyle pieces, you can start to make out the letters and words. I saw some today however that were unfathomable.