2523. M32 Spot (50)

I may have said this before, but Zake really ‘owns’ these columns at the southern end of the M32 spot, and over time the pieces have grown in sophistication. This most recent piece is rather more elaborate and detailed than some of his work and is a great measure of his development.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2019
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2019

There would appear to be a bit of a story happening – it is difficult to determine the gender of the central character, and with the prayer pose and barbed wire in the hair, this could easily be a representation of Jesus. It could equally be a female character praying for something. It would be good to know what thestory is, but not knowing does not detract from the quality of the piece.

Big sleep

.

Thoughts turn to Winter

and an urge to hibernate

to curl up and sleep.

.

by Scooj

2522. M32 roundabout J3 (173)

This is quite a rare piece by the mild-mannered Face 1st, because he doesn’t very often get political, but this piece has been painted to show the artist’s despair over Brexit. It is a sentiment that will chime for the majority of Bristol citizens who voted overwhelmingly to remain in Europe.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019

I share the tears being shed by Face 1st’s subject and they are tears that reflect a sadness that our country is so divided, more so than at any time in living memory. The UK is shattered, and we can be pretty sure that the outcome of leaving Europe will be several more years of austerity (haven’t we had enough? – as a public sector worker, I’ve not had a more than 1% pay rise for a decade), the break up of the Union, with Scotland the first to go, and a vast and costly new domestic bureaucracy (replacing the one in Europe) just to manage our trade relationships and regulations that will be required for each nation we trade with. I wish I could wake up from this nightmare. Face 1st’s piece says it all really.

2518. Bedminster

Another one from my archive, but the piece, by Kin Dose is somewhat older than my photograph of it. Positioned in a bricked up gateway this stencil is perfectly framed, and is sited in an area without much street art itself, but the surrounding areas are awash with it.

Kin Dose, Bedminster, Bristol, April 2019
Kin Dose, Bedminster, Bristol, April 2019

I have seen this owl stencil a few times in Bristol, but each one has a different background of colours and swirls, this one with a big bright hunter’s moon. This is what Kin Dose brings to his stencil work, each piece is distinct and different even though at it’s heart is the same core piece. A nice find.

2517. St Werburghs tunnel (103)

I love my little trips through my archives every now and again, and the recent weather has dictated that fewer new pieces are being painted and this has given me the tiniest bit of space to dig up some gems. This is one from Lobe from April this year before I knew who the artist was.

Lobe, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019
Lobe, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2019

Regular readers will know that I am going through a bit of a Lobe ‘period’ in Natural Adventures, and am very much enjoying her work. Adopting her usual style of a stylised portrait filled with bold solid colours, this is typical of her work. There is a lot more to come from Lobe, I am sure of it and I am looking forward to watching her work develop.

Occasional visitor

 

What is this I see?

carpet bathed in golden sun

I will lie in it

 

by Scooj

2516. St Werburghs tunnel (102)

One of the most welcome sights on any wall in Bristol has to be the beautiful form and colours of a Tasha Bee stylised face. Distinctive and full of serene character, her work, to me at least, feels like it is very ‘Bristol’ if that makes any sense at all, even though I think, like me, Tasha Bee is not a native Bristolian.

Tasha Bee, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2019
Tasha Bee, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2019

It would be easy just to focus on the face of this piece at the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel, but that would ignore the fine hair ornament with joyful colours radiating out from a central circle. Unfortunately the piece had been tagged by the time I got to see it… I just don’t understand the point of tagging something as beautiful as this, is it some kind of assertion of dominance from people who are natural undear-achievers? It is difficult to know.

 

 

Long day

.

Nine hours travelling

departure and arrival

cloaked in inky black

.

by Scooj

Redland fox

.

Early rendezvous

or just a brief encounter

Redland platform one

.

by Scooj

* When I moved to Bristol in the early nineties the Bristol urban fox population was famously thriving, in fact my allotment had the highest density of foxes on record anywhere in the world. It couldn’t last and the double whammy of mange and the introduction of wheelie bins saw the population crash.

Over the years numbers have increased again and this was one of two foxes I saw on my short walk to the station this morning.

Last hope

 

Am I wrong to pray

for divine intervention

preventing Brexit?

 

by Scooj