Tucked away in the garden of The Rising Sun was this rather provocative and surreal piece by EdF*ck. I can’t find out much about the artist, so I include his Upfest programme biography:
‘Hi my name is Edf*ck, my work mainly consists of spray paint and de-collage but extends to illustration and character design, often encapsulating dark imagery captioned with playful slogans and vicious characters.’
This great piece which was located at The Rising Sun pub, is by Mind Control who was probably the youngest artist at Upfest this year at a youthful 16. He has been spraying since he was 12 and has already found himself on the festival circuit. A precocious talent indeed, and one to look out for.
One of my favourite artists from Upfest 2016 was DinDin who produced this official piece and left a couple of wheatpastes in the Moon Street area of Stokes Croft before she left Bristol. This year she excelled with this beautiful stencil featuring a street dancer in what looks like a fairly stark wasteland.
Watching the evolution of this piece by Ebee was fascinating. I don’t think the weather was very helpful, and it probably took a lot longer to complete than the artist might have originally envisaged.
It is great when visiting artists come to Bristol for Upfest, and then decide to remain a short while in the City adding one or two more pieces. On this occasion, Helen Bur was accompanied to one of Bristol’s great spots by Kid Crayon, where she sprayed this lovely piece.
I like these letters and especially the HB pencil which appears to be a signature icon, if her website is anything to go by. As an aside, it is interesting that she uses a pencil and was spraying with Kid Crayon, who always used to feature a crayon in his work although recently he seems to have dropped it. Artists featuring the tools of their trade.
This is a good piece, and as a resident of Bristol, it is always pleasant to see visiting artists enjoying our streets.
A new month begins
bringing with it a season
colourful and cold.
by Scooj
Object… has been busy in The Bearpit again, with a flurry of political pieces. This one cleverly uses the existing posters that were pasted to the wall as a colourful and contextual backdrop to his central piece.
This is a really good piece, creative and imaginative, and always with an edge that we expect from Object… . The character is imprisoned in a circle and encouraged with the words ‘push past their walls’.
There is a strong feeling of movement and momentum in this piece and it works really well for me, but it would, wouldn’t it?
I hope that by posting this piece I will learn more about it from others who may know about it. I don’t recognise the artist, whose name appears to be ISRA, and no amount of Interweb searches have yeilded anything. What I can say is that this is a stunning piece with an extraordinary colour palette, modest and low key.
The protrait is quite incredible, and is complemented beautifully by the abstract colour pattern to its right. This is a rare piece from an unknown artist, but a work of real quality.
These arches at the Carriageworks are on borrowed time, as the building is due to be renovated and turned into flats that nobody from these parts will be able to afford, but wealthy landlords will snap up to make a tidy profit on. Perpetuating the housing crisis and buy-to-let economy which prices the poor out of affordable accomodation. Rant over.
I am determined to enjoy these fine pieces on these arches for as long as I am able. Gentrification happens everywhere and it is not all bad.
A theme used by many street artists is the depiction of a monster – I guess this is so that they can be creative and use their imagination as there is no template for a monster really.Another common theme is to seen a character using a spray can. This monster piece by NEVERGIVEUP in The Bearpit brings these themes nicely together.
NEVERGIVEUP is taking over the mantle of most prolific artist in Bristol and is varying his style, which started with his customary bunnies. He is a versatile and young artist and I’m sure will develop his styles over time. He is certainly fearless in spraying walls not previously sprayed, but is respectful of other’s work too.
The Bearpit has had a little bit of a renaissance since Upfest, and there are som decent works there, in amongst the throw ups and tagging.
This is what graffiti art is all about – a slightly dodgy alley with a derelict store room where the door has given way. Here RIP has found the perfect spot to spray one of his ‘Dia de muertos’ stencils. I know I sound like a scratched record, but half of the art of graffiti art is the placement of the piece.
I’m not too sure when RIP did this piece, but I think it might have been during Upfest, so it falls neatly into the category of a little gift left behind after the festival. More from RIP to follow soon.
Natural adventures 