This is one of the last pieces I photographed in 2023, and what a belter of a collaboration it is, bringing together the outstanding skills of Dibz, Shade One and Rusk. As always, the light under Brunel Way rarely allows photographs to do the street/grafitti art pieces justice, but I think that it is possible to see what a classy collaboration this one is.
On the left is some superb writing from Dibz, which is a tribute piece to a supporter of his work, ‘Marie’. What this piece of graffiti writing shows is that you can give Dibz any number or combination of letters, and he will be able to create something beautiful with them. The pink and black drop shadow against the gold letters works so very well.
Shade One’s work is really something special, and this portrait piece of a young person wearing a hoodie and baseball cap set against the moon and silhouetted buildings, is exceptional. The portrait is painted in greyscale, and although there is a lack of colour, it doesn’t matter one jot, because the shade and shadows provide perfect depth and texture. A very fine piece indeed.
On the right, Rusk, who is often found painting alongside Shade One, has created some gorgeous letters spelling RUSK, reflecting the gold and pink colours seen in Dibz’ piece. By using two tones of gold (bronze/brown) transitioning horizontally through the letters, it gives the illusion that the letters are a solid bar being tilted and catching the light in different ways. A tight and classy piece and collaboration.
