3416. Dean Lane skate park (377)

Benjimagnetic is on fire at the moment, and although I haven’t’ posted many of his recent pieces, they are in the pipeline and I hope to share them all eventually. This one is in Dean Lane skate park on a wall that has seen some wonderful low-key pieces in the past. It is not one of the big ‘statement’ walls but tends to play host to some rather more modest pieces.

Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

I will always own up to having Benjimagnetic dyslexia. I really struggle to make out his letters. However, I suspect Paul H might be able to help, but I think I can see an R an M? And an A? – who knows. His unique style is so recognisable and his ‘ghost’ letters brilliantly disguised. A fine piece of wildstyle writing.

3337. St Werburghs tunnel (209)

Always colourful and always a little bit different is what you expect to get with a Benjimagnetic piece. His work feels like it is layered, with each layer adding complexity to the piece, but I haven’t yet seen him paint, so it is difficult to know how he constructs his work.

Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

I have a real blind spot with reading his letters which is I think because they are hinted at with some black highlights and ethereal fills. If the fills were more solid and outlined complete, it would be much easier to interpret, but then it just wouldn’t be Benjimagnetic. He completes this piece with the words “Outsiders live forever”  – whatever that means.

3234. M32 roundabout J3 (256)

The work of Benjimagnetic is so very distinctive, but as I mentioned before, I find it very tricky to decypher the letters in his writing. The density and compactness of the work with so many intricate lines and patterns make it hard to pick the letters out.

Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020
Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020

Sometimes with certain artists, your eyes become accustomed to their style and you become better at translating or working out the words, but I have a total fail when it comes to Benjimagnetic. My guess here would be ‘B, X or M, R’. The letters do not matter too much, the colour selection is great and those white-bordered angular shapes, so unique to the artist, are superbly done. A nice piece.

3146. St Werburghs tunnel (182)

His is only the third piece I have posted by Benjimagnetic although I have quite a few of his older pieces in my archive. His style is quite unique and more about outlines than solid fills. The sketchy appearance makes it difficult to decipher the letters, but they are there somewhere. It definitely starts with a B.

Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2020
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2020

The colours in this piece are nicely thought out and the splashes of light blue and orange add some interest. In a funny way, this style is a bit like an angular version of the abstract writing we see from Mr Klue – there is a wispish, ghostly quality to it. Watch this space for more from Benjimagnetic.

3057. Brunel Way bridge (47)

The walls and columns under Brunel Way have been a bit of a honeypot in recent weeks and turnover has been pretty high. As always it is pretty difficult to keep on top of it, but I can at least share some of the pieces I find. This one is from Benjimagnetic, who has only made a couple of appearances on Natural Adventures, but I have plenty more of his pieces in my archives.

Benjimagnetic, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020
Benjimagnetic, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020

Benjimagnetic’s style is quite unique and recognisable, but I find his wildstyle writing pretty much impossible to read. His ‘brush’ strokes and lines and blocks really identify the artist, in particular the yellow three-line decorations in this instance. Colourful and skilfully worked, this is a nice piece from Benjimagnetic.

2792. St Werburghs tunnel (153)

It is quite amazing just how vibrant the street/graffiti art scene is in Bristol. So far I have published 31 different artist galleries, but this is just scratching the surface of the talent in the city (and beyond). Every day I will find something by artists I have never heard of before (I am still learning), maybe because they don’t paint very often or maybe because they are new or sometimes our paths simply haven’t crossed. This really nicely worked collaboration is by Awkward and Benjimagnetic, neither of whom I know about.

Awkward and Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020
Awkward and Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020

From looking at their Instagram accounts, which I found by looking up #jointhecloaks featured at the bottom of the piece, it looks like both are well connected to the music industry. The skull on the right was by Awkward, and the writing by Benjimagnetic. I think that the latter does more graffiti work and has several pieces posted on his Instagram feed. On my first encounter with these two I woud say that their work is accomplished and this piece certainly caught my eye. I wonder if I’ll be seeing any more of it around the place.