7322. Brunel Way (342)

Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025
Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025

This futuristic cityscape by Conrico has made it straight into my favourites for 2025. It was painted over the central section of a three-way collaboration by Sled One, Oust and Stivs, and if you look closely to the right side of this piece, you’ll see a shout-out to Oust.

Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025
Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025

There is so much depth in this piece, not only literally with the deep perspective of the street scene, but also emotional depth. Conrico depicts a world without humans, who have been replaced by AI robots, who have inherited the ordinariness and drudgery of their human forebears. It feels like a direct replacement, rather than the shiny new world we are being promised by Elon Musk and the like, and presents an alternative view of the future.

Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025
Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025

The mural is full of pathos, perhaps epitomised by the touching scene in the foreground where a robot is crouching to pet a cat, a real cat. All of this scene is painted with Conrico’s unique style that looks like the whole thing was painted with brush strokes. This is a truly outstanding work. Bravo Conrico, Bravo!

Sled One, Oust and Stivs Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2025
Sled One, Oust and Stivs Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2025

5597. Brunel Way (242)

Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

Daz Cat painted this wonderful piece during a paint jam some while ago, which was themed along the lines of a dystopian future. I ought really to have written up the whole collaboration in one post, but felt that each element was worthy of its own write-up.

Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

I am not quite sure what the creature in the piece is meant to be, but I think that is in part the point. A goat? A cat? Whatever it is, it is well armed with some kind of futuristic ray gun. The background scene is suitably gloomy, and the ground appears to be composed of toes, eyes and teeth. All a bit weird. Something a little different from Daz Cat.

5429. Brunel Way (223)

Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

This piece from Conrico is the second in a long wall paint jam collaboration with a dystopian future theme. The first piece was a ‘Terminator-style’ crocodile  but Kool Hand. Conrico, who has a wonderful natural style, has painted a female figure handling a futuristic gun and standing in front of a four-wheel drive vehicle with its headlights on.

Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

There is tons of atmosphere in this piece, and in common with other Conrico pieces, there is a great story going on here. The dark buildings in the background and rubble to the left of the piece, speak of a war zone, in the narrative of many films in this genre. I can’t help thinking that there is a little bit of Sarah Connor (The Terminator) in the character, which intentional or not is a good thing. A nice touch is a shout out to Dibz and Fade whose epic piece was painted over during this paint jam.

Kool Hand, Conrico, Werm, Korbe and Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Kool Hand, Conrico, Werm, Korbe and Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023

4867. New Stadium Road (45)

Acesartworld, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022
Acesartworld, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022

This is an interesting dystopian character piece, painted during a paint jam a few weeks back, that definitely brightened up this rather dismal little corner of St Agnes. The character is by Acesartworld, who is an artist bubbling away just beneath the surface and occasionally popping up to create something quite unusual before disappearing again into the ether.

Acesartworld, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022
Acesartworld, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022

As a whole, the piece stands up well to scrutiny, although it has a slightly naive feel to it. At a guess, I would say that Acesartworld is self-taught, and producing some fine work, but some of the proportions and perspectives are slightly off. I feel like I am being over-critical, because as a piece it stands out. I think what I am saying is I would like to see a lot more from Acesartworld and observe any developments and improvements.

3799. Sparke Evans Park (7)

Oh my goodness, Laic217 has just raised his already very high bar a little bit higher with this stunning piece on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park. He really is one of my favourite artists in Bristol, and seeing him develop over the last five years or so has been such a pleasurable experience. One of the great thrills of wandering around the graffiti spots of the city is coming across a fresh Laic217 piece.

Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2021
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2021

In this elaborate combination piece we get not only a sensational character, but also some pretty sharp writing too, spelling out LAIC. I could go on for hours about this piece, but I will try to keep it short. The cyborg head and face is straight out of the dystopian future world of films like Terminator or A.I. and is simply brilliantly well painted with a real sense of metal, flesh and material combining to create the character. The letters ain’t half bad too. Overall I have only good things to say about this outstanding piece.

2047. Upfest 2016 (165)

Yet another notable omission from my Upfest 2016 posts is this extraordinary piece by Manchester’s brilliant duo, Nomad Clan. It looks a little bit like a dystopian future piece and bristles with menace and potential violence.

Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This would have been the first time I saw these two painting or indeed was conscious of their work, although at the time I was not conscious of their work…if that makes sense. It is amazing to think what a successful few years they have had.

Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The piece is sprayed on the fake train carriage that is rolled out at Upfest each year, which is a nice touch from the organisers. The only downside to it is that it is surrounded by fences, presumably to stop people from sitting on the ledge and getting in the way of the artists.

Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This is a great looking piece with loads of attitude and a bit of as story gong on in.