7974. Cumberland Basin

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026
Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026

This is a vast piece by Taboo on a long wall alongside the tobacco warehouses on the north side of Cumberland basin. I don’t venture down this track all that often, so it is possible that this piece might have been here for some time.

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026
Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026

Just to confuse things, Taboo has written his letters in reverse, including the crew name PLB. His anti-style lettering is given some uniformity, governed by the height of the wall, but still the shapes and nature of the lettering is unconventional. A ‘normal’ sized burner spelling Dorn interrupts the flow of the piece a little, but pretty much gets absorbed into it. Fine work from Taboo.

7965. Cumberland Basin

Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026
Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026

It has been a while since I last posted anything by Kid Krishna. I think he has spent a while out of town and only returned a few weeks ago. I have seen one or two of his simple CRIE pieces, but this is the first more ‘arty’ work I have seen for ages.

Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026
Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026

In this comboination piece, we see some characterful writing in white, bordered and detailed in red, and in the middle of the letters a curious yellow hand (with legs) holding a smiling ball. I am not at all sure what all of this means, but certainly enjoy the creativity. Great to have Kid Krishna back on the streets of Bristol.

7960. Cumberland Basin

Dirtygypo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026
Dirtygypo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026

Well, this is something a little different from Dirtygypo. I can’t think of a piece by the artist that has strayed from his typical presentation, but this piece, although instantly recognisable as the work of Dirtygypo is surprisingly different.

Dirtygypo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026
Dirtygypo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2026

I love it when artists deviate from their standard and experiment. The letters are much more uniform in height and rather “blocky”. I think they spell out QUICHO. There are some interesting fill colours which have hard interfaces between them, rather than blended and the whole thing is set within an interesting frame. A look at his gallery will show how different this piece is.

7959. Cumberland Basin

Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2026
Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2026

A quick glance back at my archive revealed this Tera piece from back in July this year. I have now idea how this one missed the first cut, but I will make up for it here.

Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2026
Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2026

This is another demonic combination piece by the Tattoo artist!with the evil character sandwiched between the words ‘Tera’ and ‘Graff’. The whole scene is a perfect representation of a demonic horror apocalypse with a background of bare trees and a murder of crows.

Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2026
Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2026

The demon is a little lost in the whole thing, so here is a close up. Great work from Tera.

7917. Cumberland Basin

Stivs, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Stivs, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

Sometimes I just can’t see the wood for the trees, as my grandmother would say. Missing the obvious that is right in front of me. When I first saw this piece, I couldn’t work out the artist. It was familiar, but I couldn’t pin it down. It had something of Noise about it, but that didn’t seem right. If I had bothered to look at the signature I would have seen it was by Stivs.

Stivs, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Stivs, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

It took Stivs to point this out to me when I met him at this spot a few days later painting another piece. Slightly awkward. He said it was a birthday tribute for a friend (Boezi?). Of course the calligraffiti letters should have been enough for me to realise. Anyhow it is nonetheless a lovely piece from Stivs.

7914. Cumberland Basin

Posh and Zeks, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Posh and Zeks, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

Greetings from Greece. After a very long travelling day we have arrived, and I am stealing a few moments before my wife and daughter have woken up to write a couple of quick posts. This is a beautifully balanced combination collaboration by Posh and Zeks.

Posh and Zeks, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Posh and Zeks, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

The writing in the centre is by Posh. I might assume that is spells POSH, but I am more likely mistaken. His writing is so beautifully complex, with outstanding fills and connectivity, taking on a sketch-like quality. He has even included a little character face to the right. The decorative ‘towers’ around the writing are by Zeks, whose newly found zest for painting them, I imagine, might have only just begun. A lovely collaboration in modest tones. Great fun.

7903. Cumberland Basin

Zeks, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Zeks, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

Recently a whole cluster of these illustrative ‘tower’ pieces started appearing in the area around Cumberland Basin, and they are quite unlike anything else I have seen before. If you look closely at one of the rings of the tower you might notice the words Zeks One. So this is by Zeks who we normally think of as a graffiti writer.

Zeks, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Zeks, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

I like it when artists latch onto an idea and then start replicating that idea while the enthusiasm for it remains. There is something strangely charming and infantile about the tower, and this one, painted over a Creamylines piece, works well with the existing sun and birds around the top. Watch this space for more of these from Zeks.

7895. Cumberland Basin

Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

Zake has come along such a long way from his early column pieces under the M32 back in 2018 when I first came across his work. This year he has turned up the dial with a variety of really different character pieces that each tell a bit of a story.

Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

In this piece, Zake has painted a cartoonish demonic character playing some mystical pipe. Behind him is a group of hooded characters, looking a little creepy to me, with lanterns held on sticks. Perhaps out protagonist is summoning them to do their evil deeds. Something a little different from Zaake.

7889. Cumberland Basin

Nice One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Nice One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

Another classic piece from Nice One, who, it has to be said has generally had quite a quiet few months painting on the streets. It can be hard to know sometimes what impacts on the peaks and troughs in activity from different artists, and one can only hope it is for good reasons.

Nice One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Nice One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

This combnination piece cleanly separates a superb portrait sketch from the beautifully picked out and typical letters ‘Nice One’. The portrait piece resembles a bust or statue and the sketch-like quality of the lined feels like this piece has been directly lifted out of an artist’s workbook. To create that greyscale pencil drawing look at this scale using spray paints is fantastically skillful and perfectly executed by Nice One. Outstanding.

7883. Cumberland Basin

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

A quick jaunt back into my June archive revealed this beauty from Solar on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. I would offer my subjective view and say that Solar’s work this year has risen to the next level, and he is turning out some outstanding work.

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

Solar’s unusual and anti-style work is perversely becoming quite conventional, simply because he has established himself and made a mark. This is no bad thing, because he retains his identity and developing style. In this wonderfully fragmented piece, the outline is incomplete, and the fills drift way beyond the boundaries. A sense of order is maintained by the pink and magenta decorations that have stuck to the script and frame the piece beautifully. Cool work.