772. The Bearpit (67)

Tuesday 2 May was something of a special day. I took a lunchtime walk to Dean Lane, and was lucky enough to come across an artist spraying a large buck-toothed bunny. This was a significant moment, because I have taken several pictures of this bunny about the place, but never posted it because I didn’t know who it was by.

This was my chance – I asked if he minded if I took a picture and I had a chat with him. Turns out he is Hire (pronounced ‘he ray’) and comes from Poland and sometimes paints with Laic217 (who he told me is also Polish). So now the piece I recently posted by the pair of them makes more sense.

Hire, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
Hire, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017

So here is a toothy bunny from a little while ago from The Bearpit, and guess what…it is by Hire. You would not believe how many google searches I have done for street art bunnies/rabbits/graffiti/buck-teeth/scary and so on. Nothing, not a dicky bird. Anyhow it doesn’t matter anymore.

Hire, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017
Hire, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2017

Feast your eyes on this bunny and enjoy. There will be more dredged from the archives soon.

631. The Bearpit (39)

In The Bearpit, there are four premium spots, each one is at the end of each of the four tunnels. These are the places that are most sought after, but also the ones most frequently tagged, so anything sprayed here is always going to be reasonably short lived.

Pure Evil, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017
Pure Evil, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017

It was lucky then that I came across this piece by the London-based artist Pure Evil while it was still fresh and unmarked. Pure Evil is an artist I knew nothing about until I started researching this post, and realised that perhaps I should have known a little more. His biography on his website is well worth a read – he has covered a lot of ground.

Pure Evil, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017
Pure Evil, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017

I note also, that he is selling prints of his Bristol Bearpit piece for cool £2,000 on his website. I am guessing from that kind of price tag that he must be strongly established in the art world. Obviously I prefer the freebies he leaves on our city walls. I rather like this work, and will be more vigilant when I visit London to see if I can find any more. Let’s hear it for more scary bunnies.

Pure Evil, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017
Pure Evil, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017

“My enemies are in power – and my heroes are dead” – that speaks for a lot of us.

339. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (15)

This rather unusual piece was sprayed back at the start of June and is by DNT. Rather delightfully entitled ‘RIP corporate bunny’ it taps into the edgy political community that makes Stokes Croft such a creative force in Bristol. I like this work for many reasons…bullet holes in a cuddly bunny character. Disturbing and visually engaging all at once.

DNT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
DNT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016

The piece has been sprayed over the Hoax and AKArat work that I featured in one of my earlier posts this year.