6881. Cumberland Basin

#DFTE and Dave Sharp, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025
#DFTE and Dave Sharp, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

These two artists collaborated on almost this exact spot back in July 2022 – how time flies, I had it in my mind that it was last year. From what I can gather #DFTE and Dave Sharp are good friends, and this fine collaboration ‘anxious iron giants’ combines the distinctive writing of #DFTE with the artistic talents of Dave Sharp.

#DFTE and Dave Sharp, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025
#DFTE and Dave Sharp, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

I would love to see more from #DFTE – the power of words is so beautifully presented with his unique style, going big on the drips, but he doesn’t seem to paint all that often. Dave Sharp, I don’t know much about, but he has captured the Iron Giant robot really well, perhaps tinged with a little anxiety… who knows. Their combination works really well, and as a bonus, here is their last one…

Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

4617. Cumberland Basin

Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

Sometimes street art is edgy, sometimes political, and sometimes just great fun, and this collaboration by Dave Sharp and #DFTE falls into that latter category. The two pieces on a black buffed wall leap out at you, and it is a sour old soul that couldn’t find something to like about it.

Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

To the left is a fabulous SpongeBob SquarePants piece, by an artist I don’t think I have come across before, Dave Sharp, and what a great job he has done, bringing the children’s cartoon character to life. To the right is a typical philosophical phrase from #DFTE, albeit in a much larger format than his smaller framed pieces. “Happiness is being confidently weird” – I think I can live with that. Nice drips, by the way.