What an unexpected pleasure, not only to find a P0G0 piece in Bristol, not only to find a paste up by P0G0 in Bristol but to find TWO paste ups by P0G0 on the same day in different parts of town. I am indeed a lucky seeker.
A red letter day.
Tag: Bristol
569. Upfest 2016 (80)
I guess I am about half way through my posts from Upfest 2016, and I don’t think I will have finished posting them until Upfest 2017! I am becoming overwhelmed by the number of pictures I have in my archive and am not sure how best to share them with you. Less of the rambling writing might be a blessing for you and more shorter posts each day…but that could risk graffiti fatigue, and I wouldn’t want you to be bored with increased posts. I have to say though that this is quite a pleasant conundrum, which would be all the better if I didn’t have to work!
Winter happens, right?
Snow came and we saw;
a national obsession
sated. Now the floods.
by Scooj
Is it me, or has winter recently become a highly unusual event? We have four seasons, and although climate change is mixing things up a bit, we do still have those four seasons. The news coverage about our weather has become almost non-stop and utterly over the top.
This is a narrative led by successive governments that are reputation driven and risk averse. A millimeter of snow in Bristol is news? This focus and emphasis reminds me of the worst kind of distraction agenda-setting. Our nation is on its knees, EU Exit (formerly known as Brexit) is in a horrendous muddle, Trump, NHS, homelessness, public sector dismantling. Things are not going well in the UK, so let’s talk about the weather, it’s something we can all rally round…isn’t it?
OK I’m done now.
568. Upfest 2016 (79)
It is always really nice when artists who come to Upfest leave additional works dotted around Bristol. These ‘extras’ range from commissions to ‘naughty’ pieces, but as far as I am concerned they are always welcome.
This amazing owl by Angerami will have been missed by most visitors to Upfest, and indeed to North Street, because it is in an alleyway with a huge iron gate in front of it. I didn’t notice it at first, but of course, I am always on the look out for such things.
The owl is beautiful, but I can’t help thinking it was done as a special request, because it really isn’t very accessible for anyone other than the owner of the alleyway. You might recall from an earlier post his incredible fish. I love street artists who paint wildlife and Angerami is right up there with the best.
567. Upfest 2016 (78)
This was one of the larger pieces from Upfest, and I have just spent 20 minutes looking for some other pictures that I took of it once it was completed, but can I find them…? It is quite an unusual piece by Fin DAC, and I have to say I think it is brilliant.
I particularly like the way the chimney stack has been incorporated into the work (which of course, you can’t see from these crappy pics) – I love it when street artists use the environment they are painting in to enhance the work. Fin DAC is an artist from Ireland but who now resides in London. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like this before, but it has some real overtones of Japanese culture in it, which I don’t think is common to his other work. Maybe that is just me. Really nice piece.
Childish
Anticipation
of snow, too much to bear; still
the child is in me.
by Scooj
566. Upfest 2016 (77)
This rather nice large, clean piece by 45RPM, one of Bristol’s finest street artists, captures the theme of the festival ‘Mr Men’ (and little Miss) with a new addition of Mr Paint? I’m not sure what he is called, but it is a witty piece painted in the spirit of the event.
The wall though is a complete bugger to photograph. It would seem that the parking bay in front of it is reserved 24/7 for white van man (although in this case a Range Rover)! I can’t count how many times I have been to north street to photograph this piece, and there it is…some bloody van. So I will calm down, and you will just have to put up with van pollution in my pictures. To help me retain my poise, I offer two other pieces by 45RPM – an owl, and an anteater…ahhhh that’s better.
565. Upfest 2016 (76)
2016 was a highly charged year on the political front, and many artists who came to Upfest presented various viewpoints and commentaries on the major issues of our time. One of the most compelling was this incredible portrait of Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition.
‘When you cut out a man’s TONGUE, you are not proving him a LIAR, you’re telling the world that you FEAR what he might say’
This was a view supported by many on the left of the Labour Party, and is a nice quote. The portrait itself is really stunning, and captures the man extremely well. right down to the beige suit.
Snow forecast
The winter sunshine
full of deceit, tempting us
to believe in spring.
by Scooj
564. Picton Lane (8)
This is a little spot in a very narrow lane where Aspire likes to paint his birds. I recently posted a work from here of a couple of house sparrows. This, according to Aspire’s website is a coconut lorikeet. So very beautiful and nicely painted, as one would expect from Aspire.
The lane itself is so narrow, that taking decent pictures is really difficult. One note I would make though is that the pictures look ever so slightly out of focus. This is not in fact the case – Aspire manages to create a hint of soft focus on some of his pieces, and you can see this on both the lorikeet and the sparrows.
I will never tire of finding and reporting on Aspire’s work. I tried to find some in London’s Leake Street recently, but failed.
Natural adventures 