What a clever juxtaposition is presented to us by Spanish artist Sr.X in this piece that shows Joseph Stalin painted in a period propaganda pose, holding Mickey Mouse in his hands. Surely these represent two opposite ends of the political spectrum and what fun to squeeze them together like this.
Sr.X, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I like Sr.X’s work and have not long ago posted an enormous work by him in Shoreditch. I am surprised that he was allocated such a tiny board for Upfest 2018 and would hope that maybe sometime in the future he gets to paint one of the bigger festival walls. All good.
Well, I’m not too sure where to start with this one from Object… really. The piece features a fairly grotesque headless, winged, multiple-armed torso with a speech bubble containing a well-used phrase ‘eat the rich‘. The phrase itself is attributed to Jean-Jaques Rousseau and alludes to the suggestion that when the people have nothing more to eat, they shall eat the rich.
Object…, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
As political as ever, Object… is tireless in his championing of the underclass, the unrepresented and the unfortunate. His work always comes across as very passionate, and often pained by the injustices of the world…visceral is perhaps the word I am looking for. I realise his work might shock or leave you cold, but I am actually a fan of this thoroughly decent man and artist.
There was a great contribution to Upfest 2018 from the Gums n Tongue crew and this section by Lazy Obit continued The Simpsons theme with an interesting depiction of Millhouse masquerading as a super hero, but which one I am not sure.
Lazy Obit, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
As with all the pieces from this crew, Lazy Obit has produced a high quality, fun piece that enters into the whole spirit of Upfest. On reflection, it might have been better for me to post the whole wall in one go, but my original decision to post them separately was to allow each one to be enjoyed individually. This was a great piece on a great wall from a great crew.
I love this kind of illustration street work…something that could appear in a children’s book, but is on a huge scale. The detail and interest that Dima Kashtalyan has managed to capture in this piece is inspiring.
Dima Kashtalyan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I know little of the artist other than that he is an illustrator/artist from Minsk in Belarus. He uses a pointillism style and likes to pose questions and burning issues in his work. Here he asks the question ‘to draw or not to draw?’ probably a crowd-pleasing slogan at an art festival.
Dima Kashtalyan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
There is something very comforting and familiar about this piece and I would gladly have it hanging on a wall at home. Really great stuff.
There is so much going on in this magnificent piece by Andrew Burns Colwill, but it is not busy…on the contrary it is calm and peaceful which is somewhat at odds with a fragmenting world it represents.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I like Andrew Burns Colwill very much, both as an artist and as an acquaintance, and I managed to catch up with him a couple of times during the festival. He had started early, so by the time I first found him on the Friday, his work was already well underway.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The piece combines several ideas and themes, but the obvious one is a representation of the biggest issue of our time (other than climate change), Brexit. The world is represented by an apple, and we hold it in our (multicultural) hands.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
A bite has been taken from the apple and is seen sinking in the water below. A closer look at the lost piece of apple shows the UK cut-off and drifting away all alone. One can read in so many metaphors into this work – brotherhood, loss, a gift, urbanisation and so on, but for me it is the isolation of the UK that stands out.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
A most brilliant piece, and one of the highlights of the 2018 festival.
About Ponny left us a few of his poignant wheatpastes about the place during Upfest, of which this is the third I have posted. All of them have featured subjects who have hit upon hard times. The beautiful stencils in dark tones highlighted with copper have a sad but gentle feel to them and they are full of pathos.
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I am full of admiration for the work of this Italian artist, and how, in a quiet and subtle way, he reflects the troubles of our age of austerity and economic struggles. No fuss, no ranting, simply an honest portrayal.
Here we see yet another great new wall for Upfest 2018… the organisers really pulled out all the stops for the tenth anniversary festival. Slightly off the beaten track, but well worth the walk is this enormous piece by Andy Council on a Wessex Water building.
Andy Council, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This is a really wonderful piece that features a couple of Otters, characteristically for this artist composed of architectural landmarks from Bristol. Andy Council needed extensive scaffolding to get the piece completed safely, which remained in place beyond the end of the festival, so many visitors might not have seen the completed piece.
Andy Council, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
He seemed to be enjoying himself up there, but was well away from the bustle of activity in the main painting areas.
Andy Council, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Three landmarks clearly visible on the otter on the right are the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Create Centre and the Tobacco Factory. This is yet another outstanding piece from Andy Council and one that I hope remains for a long while.
Natural adventures 