Tag: ASK

280. M32 Roundabout J3 (12)

Voyder is an artist and wildstyle graffiti writer who I think is Bristol based, and often collaborates with Deamze and Soker. His website reveals little about him, but showcases his artwork beautifully. Known for his writing and art pieces in equal measure he has a strong presence in Bristol, and is a member of ASK.

Voyder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Voyder, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

His writing is distinctive in that it is usually in thin script, rather than the cryptic block style other Bristol artists use, and on a slant, much more like a handwritten signature. His work really stands out from the crowd, because of its distinctive style. I have a whole load more of his work stacking up and waiting to write about. We are very lucky in Bristol to have so many talented wildstyle writers, and walls for them to spray.

276. Old Bread Street (3)

Every now and then I like to check out the hoardings at Old Bread Street, near the rather peculiar Gardiner Haskins department store. Last weekend I was immensely pleased to see that a bunch of street artists from ASK had collaborated on several of the panels.

Sepr, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2016
Sepr, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2016

This is a wonderful piece by Sepr. Now who hasn’t had a telephone call like this, especially those of who can remember real telephones with cords? I think that Sepr really conveys the sense of irritation. The man’s expression and the pulling of his own tie speaks volumes – it is almost like a moving image. Very clever.

Sepr, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2016
Sepr, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2016

The observant among you will see this piece is sandwiched between Deamze and Voyder burners. Great company indeed.

 

 

266. M32 cycle path (1)

A few weeks back I took my car in for its MOT and had to wait an hour or two before it was ready. It was too far to walk home, so I decided to explore an area that I hadn’t been to before, as I was nearby.

Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2016
Deamze detail, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2016

I suspected that I would find some graffiti and street art and was not disappointed. This area is an extension of the M32 roundabout, but a little more off the beaten track.

Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2016
Deamze, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2016

This is another wonderful bit of wildstyle writing from Deamze in delicious green and black. It looks like an older piece, but I can’t be sure, I don’t think the turnover is quite as high as in other areas in Bristol. It is a good piece, and there is plenty more to report on from this area.

257. Dean Lane skate park (7)

To find an Inkie work is always a pleasure. To find one that is still fresh, and you can almost smell the paint is even better. This piece was obviously a bit of fun, because the walls here at Dean Land skate park are over painted pretty much weekly.

Inkie, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, May 2016
Inkie, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, May 2016

I have a feeling that a few artists came together to spray these walls together last weekend, because in addition to Inkie, Zesk and Hemper and Mr Draws had all sprayed pieces at the same time. I am finding out that quite often groups of artists will congregate and have graffiti fun together.

Inkie, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, May 2016
Inkie, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, May 2016

I still stand out as an observer of street art, because that is what I am. Very slowly I am learning a little bit more about the culture, the relationships, the taboos and the protocols of the graffiti community, but I will always be an outsider looking in. It is not a regret, but more of an observation. It also means that my naivety in this landscape is sometimes crushingly obvious.

I do this though because it gives me great pleasure.

249. King Square Avenue (2)

Just to make a point I guess, I thought I’d post another Deamze burner in exactly the same place as the one in the previous post. As mentioned, these pieces are all very similar in structure and style, but each time the colour selection seems to be faultless.

Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, April 2016
Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, April 2016

There are more of these in my backlog of Bristol street art, but I will give you a break for the time being.

248. King Square Avenue (1)

The master of wildstyle writing in Bristol is also known for his rather less elaborate burners, particularly in the Stokes Croft area. They all follow a similar structure and clearly show the ASK (After School Klub) tag. Another tag that these are often given is ‘oxygenthieves’ to which I must admit to knowing very little, although I think it has something to do with Soker, Epok and Old Hempsy – I would guess a crew, since they are all established Bristol writers.

Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, February 2016
Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, February 2016

I love these striking burners. They have such clear, crisp lines and colour contrasts that seem to work very well together. Stokes Croft wouldn’t be Stokes Croft without a DEAM loitering out there somewhere.

Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, February 2016
Deamze, King Square Avenue, Bristol, February 2016

200. M32 Roundabout, Junction 3 (8)

The final one of a quickfire burst of Deamze wildstyle works. This is yet another one on the M32 roundabout. Doing this reminds me that I really ought to get back down there to see what’s new.

Deamze, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Deamze, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

This time we are treated to pinks and reds in this intricate work. Unfortunately it is very tricky to photograph, because it is in quite a narrow passage which makes it difficult to get the whole piece in frame. The sideways shot just about does it.

Deamze, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Deamze, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

OK, I’ll leave Deamze alone for a while now and concentrate on some other works.

193. M32 Roundabout Junction 3 (6)

The concrete surrounding structure of the M32 roundabout between St Pauls and Easton lends itself very well to wildstyle work. There is not a great deal of height, but plenty of width, and therefore it is a bit of a magnet for wildstyle specialists. Soker is at the top of his game and producing some wonderful work. This is a recent example which I photographed in March.

Soker, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2106
Soker, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2106

I’m not sure why his work spells out Sokem and not Soker – maybe someday somebody will tell me. It seems to be a thing though with many wildstyle writers.

Soker, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2106
Soker, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2106

The colours and shapes on this work really well, and there were many accompanying pieces adjacent to this one…for later posts.

184. Ashley Road (5)

It would appear that Friday late afternoon is the right time to be passing the street art hot spots. Last week I managed to catch up with Decay and Alex Lucas, today I met and watched Sled One working this practice hoarding in Stokes Croft.

Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016
Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016

I had just dropped down from Armada Place, where I had seen and photographed another of his recent works, so it was a real pleasure to meet him. What a nice guy, and an extremely talented artist. It was his work that I featured (the woody woodpecker one) a little while ago that I honestly believe to be one of the finest works I have seen in Bristol. I told him as much (he was chuffed) and he said that it was freestyled…which basically means he sprayed it off the top of his head – no plan. Below are some pictures of Sled One at work.

Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016
Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016
Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016
Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016
Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016
Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016
Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016
Sled One, Ashley Road, Bristol, 15 April 2016

You can make out the writing, it says Sled in silver and ASK in yellow (ASK is After School Klub – a group of Bristol street artists). A good afternoon’s work I would say.

180. M32 J3 Roundabout (4)

This is one of several lovely fresh wildstyle burners on the infrastructure of the M32 roundabout. The artist is Sled One who was also the genius behind one of my very best hoardings in Bristol, posted back on 1 March 2016.

Sled One, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Sled One, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

This colourful piece spells out ASK, which stands for ‘After School Klub’ one of the dominant Bristol crews. I am never quite sure who the crew is made up of, there seem to be a lot of them. Associated with ASK is the KTF acronym which stands for ‘Keeping things Fresh’. You will see KTF and ASK dotted on many of the works in Bristol.

Sled One, detail, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Sled One, detail, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

I particularly like the eye in the A of ASK. Little details like this show the care and thought that goes into these wildstyle pieces.