Adjacent to the Sofa Project back yard is another yard that is a bit of a street art goldmine. First up from this little backwater is this gorgeous piece by Voyder, characteristically sharp and of very high quality.
Voyder, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2018
With a vanishing point somewhere behind the lettering this piece stands out from the wall and the flash across the middle gives the impression of a reflective band of sunlight as if the piece is being tilted side to side. Now sunlight…that would make a refreshing change. Beautiful piece of writing as always.
I was first alerted to this Kleiner Shames piece on Instagram, but from the pictures I saw I just couldn’t get the location. In the end I had to message one of my street art buddies to find out where it was…which looking at it now with hindsight is blooming obvious. There is a charity in Bristol called the SOFA Project (Shift Old Furniture Around) which has two locations one of which, the Old Market store, has a walled yard where this piece is sprayed. The charity sells on old furniture, donated locally, to those less able to afford new furniture. A worthy venture.
Kleiner Shames, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2018
On to this stunning piece by my favourite ex-Bristol artist, Kleiner Shames. Most of his wall work is writing, with the odd exception, and he tends to spell out the letters FOIS which spells out ‘time’ in french. The lettering here is so easy on the eye and beautifully designed. Every time I see pieces like this I feel there must be an element of art deco architectural influence going onm, or at least that is what it looks like to me. This is a very fine piece indeed.
They really don’t come any better than Sled One. His bizarre creations have a dream-like cartoon style to them, but it is the immaculate execution of his work that is most notable. His lines and shading as well as extraordinary textures, for example the banana in this piece, seem to flow effortlessly from his spray can. It would be impressive enough if this piece were created with paint brushes…it is a small miracle with spray cans.
Sled One, Thomas Street, Bristol, October 2018
The element of humour also must not be overlooked and although a little gory, the concept of a banana slipping over on a human is a funny one. The little finger skateboard is a little nod to Sled One’s other passion which is skateboarding, and his Facebook stream has several videos of his skills for all to see. The piece is exquisite.
The permission to paint the hoardings was arranged by Where the Wall who offer street art tours around Bristol.
Every now and again I like to treat myself to a nice sandwich or sausage roll at Pinkmans on Park Street for my lunch and it is a real treat, because the prices are what you’d expect from such a highly rated bakery (Sunday Times top 25 bakery in the UK). To get there I can either go up Park Street itself or up the much quieter parallel Hill Street.
Deamze, Hill Street, Bristol, October 2018
Halfway up Hill street, which provides the back entrances for all the retail shops and eateries, is a small car park which is a rather special little street art spot that few people know about. Turnover here is very low indeed and tagging rare. There was a wonderful Kleiner Shames mural here but it has finally given way to this extraordinarily brilliant piece from Deamze. I really like it that Deamze has done a little nod of recognition to the artistry of Kleiner Shames with the inclusion of the word Fois (KS’s wildstyle word).
Deamze, Hill Street, Bristol, October 2018
In this piece Deamze has surrounded his wildstyle writing with a cartoon space scene from Marvin the Martian, and I have to confess to having to look this up because he is not a cartoon character I am familiar with. As one would expect from Deamze, this is a beautifully conceived and executed piece that is most welcome on this special wall. Now onwards to Pinkmans.
It has been a long while since I last posted a piece by the extraordinarily talented Sled One, so it was great to come across this piece in the Cumberland Basin a week or so back. The wall itself is always tricky to photograph because there is a lot of glare that streams across it – this may be an artifact of the time of day I usually visit this wall.
Sled One, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018
I will not pretend that I have anything other than utmost admiration for the work of Sled One – his fantastical creations are the stuff of cartoons and surrealism combined. Add to that potent mix a technical gift and you have some of the best artwork being produced in Bristol at this moment in time.
Sled One, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018
Earlier in the year I met Sled One a couple of times, and it turns out he lives on my road (although I think he travels around a lot too, originally coming from York (I think)). On his Instagram account he labels this piece as a self-portrait. I guess he is fond of Nike shoes! He says it started as an ASK (the crew he belongs to) piece, but that it ended up elsewhere. I can’t read ASK concealed anywhere in the illustration. Fabulous work.
Yet another fine collaboration between Cheo and Soker – these two seem to be on something of a roll at the moment, producing countless pieces all over the city of Bristol. This one perfectly fills the space on the hoardings in front of a new development.
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018
The piece is bookended by a pair of mischievous spray can characters painted by Cheo, and in the middle of all of this is a dazzling piece of writing by Soker which spells out SUMOE. I guess I should know what sumoe is all about, but alas I have no idea. There is a whole bunch of #sumoe graffiti Instagram, most of it in the USA.
Cheo, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018
Cheo has pretty much nailed it with his bookends as he seems to with pretty much everything he does. With their dark furry eyebrows, there is something of the Muppets in his characters. Of course we are also graced with the presence of one of his signature bees.
Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018
Soker’s writing is composed primarily of four horizontal layers ranging from light blue at the top through to light purple at the bottom, each layer smattered with accents or decoration. He has also worked quite an unusual double 3D shadow cast by the letters. This is a great collaboration from this ASK duo, and well worth the trip to Raleigh Road.
I had no idea this was here. Unheralded, unannounced and not picked up on Instagram, this wonderful new piece from 3Dom is in Frogmore Street where there used to be a collaboration by RichT and 45RPM (you can just see the remains of it in the doorway) which seems to have been here forever.
3Dom, Frogmore Street, Bristol, August 2018
We are used to seeing rather surreal work and dream-like characters from the brilliant mind of 3Dom, but occasionally he also creates these wonderful abstract concentric designs, and this one really hits the spot.
3Dom, Frogmore Street, Bristol, August 2018
I hope he returns to finish up in the doorway, because as it stands it looks a little untidy. Maybe he has already done it, I don’t know as I’ve not returned since I took the pictures. The colours and shapes are reminiscent of some kind of organic life, almost like a coral reef. The shading and highlights are really clever, giving the whole piece a sort of 3D effect. Lovely work.
A collection of graffiti art from the Bristol writer Soker
All photographs taken by Scooj
Dibz, Cheo and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026Soker, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2026Goldie, Jody, Dibz, Posea, Zuke, Soker, Cheo and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2025Soker, Cheo, Fade and Zuke, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2025Soker, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2025Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025Soker, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2024Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024Soker, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2019Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018Soker, Norfolk Place, Bristol, April 20233Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021Soker, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022Soker, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2022Soker, Waterloo Street, Bristol, April 2022Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2021Andy Council, Soker and Paul Monsters, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2021Andy Council, Soker and Paul Monsters, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2021Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021Soker, St Pauls, Bristol, March 2021Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020Soker, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020Inkie and Soker, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020Paul Monsters and Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol September 2020Soker, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2020Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020Soker, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2020Andy Council and Soker, North Street, Bristol, July 2020Soker, North Street, Bristol, July 2020Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2018Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2019Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2020Soker, Inkie and Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2020Soker, M32 cycle path, Bristol, February 2020Paul Monsters and Soker, Waterloo Place, Bristol, June 2019Soker, Norfolk Place, Bristol, April 2019Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2019Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2019Soker, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2017Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2018Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2018Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2018Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018Soker and 3Dom, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018Soker, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2018Soker, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2018Soker, Old Bread Street, Bristol, September 2016Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2018Soker, Jubilee Street, Bristol, January 2017Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2017Soker, Bedminster, Bristol, September 2017Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2017Soker, Cheo and Deamze, Church Road, Bristol, September 2017Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016Soker, Bond Street, Bristol, June 2017Soker and Cheo, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2017Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, May 2017Soker, Albert Park, Bristol, July 2016Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2017Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, March 2017Soker, Church Road, Bristol, March 2017FLX, 3Dom, Epok, Soker, Sepr, Horley Road, Bristol, October 2016Soker, Norfolk Place, Bristol, August 2016Soker, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, September 2016Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2016Soker, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2016Soker, North Street, Bristol, June 2016Soker, Lawfords Gate, Bristol, June 2016Deamze, Voyder and Soker, Lawfords Gate, Bristol, June 2016Soker, Midland Street, Bristol, March 2016Soker, Midland Street, Bristol, March 2016Soker and Cheo, New John Street, Bristol, September 2015Soker, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2106Voyder and Soker, Midland Street, Bristol, October 2015Feek and Soker, Jubilee Street, Bristol, November 2015Soker, Jamaica Street, Bristol, March 2016
A fabulous piece by one of Bristol’s finest graffiti writers, with a little addition by 3Dom, who seems to be rather busy on the streets just now. I got rather lucky with this piece, because I saw Soker just as he was sketching the piece out, over the top of a Mr Draws piece I had come to look at. I then had to go, and took a break for a week away on holiday. Luckily the piece was fully intact and untouched when I got back – respect to those taggers who decided to leave this one alone.
Soker and 3Dom, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
Soker is on something of a roll this summer, and his work appears to be as popular as ever. I posted his Simpsons Upfest piece on my Instagram account and it received more likes than any other piece I have ever posted by a factor of about 3.
Soker and 3Dom, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
I love the colour selections he has made for this piece, the blue and purple contrasting brilliantly with the chrome writing. There is so much to like here, and even if you are not a fan of burners and writing, surely this must generate some excitement – the quality shines through.
Soker and 3Dom, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
The whole thing is capped off briliantly by the addition of a face to the letter ‘O’ by 3Dom, bringing the whole thing alive and giving it incredible personality. The face almost looks like a transfer that has been rubbed onto the writing. A quality collaboration. Bravo.
Without doubt, this is one of the most difficult walls in Bristol to photograph. I think I have only ever passed by once when there hasn’t been a car parked in front of it, so rather than wait for hell to freeze over I decided to give it my best shot…I think I might have got away with it (just).
3Dom, Albert Park, Bristol, July 2018
The fabulous wildstyle writing is by 3Dom – you can make out the letters – and is a complex and colourful piece. I think it might have been painted at the same time as Feek’s most recent camel which adjoins this wall. 3Dom is one of only a handful of writers in Bristol who produces separate writing and street art works, both equally high quality. A great wall, but seriously in need of a couple of extra yellow lines.
Natural adventures 