Smell of apple drop
round cobbles in various
stages of decay.
by Scooj
Tag: Decay
1713. Upfest 2018 (38)
The forecast for Upfest this year had been pretty dreadful, which was disappointing as the rain came in the middle of a heat wave and prolonged spell of dry weather. The impact on many artists was that they made hay while the sun shined and finished their pieces early on Saturday. The upshot to this is that there were several artists I would have liked to catch up with that were long gone by the time I found their work.
Decay has long been a favourite of mine, and it is great to see that in 2018 he has really started to grow his style while keeping the basic elements of his colour pallette and curvy lines. This is a 10 year celebration piece and has a nice little dedication to Emma and Steve, the masterminds behind Upfest in the top right. If I am not mistaken, there is a Bowie lyric in there too. This is a nice splash of colour and a lovely nod to the festival itself.
1454. The Bearpit (139)
In some parts of British society there has been considerable discomfort and anger directed towards the Government for joining the USA and France in bombing Syria without consutling with Parliament first. Mistakes have been made in the past, particularly over WMD which has suggested a more considered aproach might be necessary. As a result of the bombing, protests have become prominent in all walks of life. This is a graffiti art protest.
Of course the two pieces (I admire his ability to recreate the same image freehand almost exactly) are by Decay, who has been making a deliberate effort to diversify his customary abstract radiating pieces, and this is a good example of something different.
This little character, tinged with rage, conveys the message clearly and inoffensively. These were both sprayed for the Spring paint jam in The Bearpit.
1425. The Bearpit (130)
This is a really terrible picture of a quickie from Decay on the left and trademark ‘SEISMIC’ from Jee See on the right. It is always geat to see work from both of these two artists, whose work is stylistically quite different. I am really enjoying these small character type pieced from Decay at the moment.
This board in The Bearpit has since been prepped and replaced with new work sprayed during a paint jam on 14 April 2018 – more on this to follow.
1388. The Bearpit (126)
Going back just a little, I found this unusual collaboration between Decay and Dirtystreetart. QI know a lot about the former and have posted a lot of his work here, the latter though is new to me, and I am guessing that he was visiting Bristol.
I think this collaboration works really well, Decay adding some green to his usual red white and black abstract work fusing brilliantly with the photorealistic ant in the middle of the piece by Dirtystreetart.
I was pleased to get this shot of the piece, because it didn’t get to hang around for too long before getting sprayed over. I’m not sure if these two have collaborated before, but I think this works well, and I would certainly like to see more from the pair.
Having just checked out Dirtystreetart on the Interweb, it turns out he comes from Cheltenham, as does Decay, before he made his home in Bristol, which would go some way to explaining this collaboration.
1339. The Bearpit (121)
I recently saw this fabulous piece by Decay in The Bearpit only a few days after I stumbled across an identical one in Shoreditch a few days earlier. I think that this is all part of a new approach to his work in 2018, and one which will be interesting to observe.
I am accustomed to seeing his abstract concentric rings in shades of red, grey, white and black with a small face at the centre, which I love, but I await with eagerness the direction his liberation will take.
1309. Shoreditch, London (3)
When looking for street art outside the borders of Bristol, it is always a genuinely pleasant experience to find a piece by a Bristol artist. And so it was in this fortuitous instance while wandering around Shoreditch fairly aimlessly, because I don’t know my way around. On a hoarding I saw a very familiar sight that was rather comforting, a couple of pieces by Decay.
Although Decay is a migrant Bristolian, a buit like me, I still consider him to be part of the city. In this first piece, Decay looks like he is branching out a little from his usual concentric shapes – I have seen another piece similar to this one recently. I think it works.
Right next to this first piece, Decay has painted one of his works which is altogether more familiar. I believe he sprayed these only a day or two before I photographed them, which is great, especially as I had no idea he had been in the area. A serendipitous trip to London, certainly in my case.
Two more fine pieces from Decay.
1301. Old Ashley Hill
I have driven past this piece dozens of times and caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye, but parking is tricky. Finally I found some time to double park, nip out and take these pictures.
It is a wonderful piece by Decay and one that is likely to be around for some time as it looks like a private commisssion. Many of his pieces, particularly in the centre of town get oversprayed, so it is nice to have a spot where it will be around for a while.
Decay is the master of these abstract designs and his work is easy to identify due to its distinctive shapes and use of the colours red, white, grey and black. This one is a stunner.
Renewal
Deep winter decay
from which all life emerges;
faintest hint of spring.
by Scooj
1199. Backfields Lane (3)
I think this is the largest Decay piece I have seen, and I like it. Going large suits his work in my view. When I first saw this wall, there was a large white van obscuring the bottom half, and I was rather fed up. But by the next time I visited, the car park was empty and I got a good unobstructed view.
Decay has taken to adding some philosophical text next to his pieces recently, and I think mit works quite well. Here he says ‘living in the days of ill soul’ and I kind of get what he’s talking about.
He has worked hard to make it look like the piece is emerging from a hole in the wall and I think to a greater extent it works. On seeing a previous piece by the artist, my wife rather spoiled things by pointing out a phallic undertone…which I hadn’t noticed. Now when I see his pieces I kind of see it again, and especially in this piece. I am not sure if it is deliberate or accidental, but it is difficult to ignore once it has been pointed out. Sorry.
A great piece from Decay.
Natural adventures 