The Earthshot Prize looks at solutions to the challenges our planet faces. Five prizes of £1 million are awarded for five years, this being the second year and the award ceremony will be in Singapore.
The shame about this is that the prize has to exist at all. If Governments around the world were serious about getting out of the mess we’re in they would be funding this kind of research and innovation as part of the ‘day job’. I try to lok on the upside though.
Back in September 2019 I discovered an alleyway in Easton for the first time. It was one of those moments when I realised just how little I knew about street art in Bristol, that I could have missed this extraordinary spot with so many extraordinary pieces painted there, many of them dating back years.
3Dom, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, September 2019
This piece at the entrance to St Mark’s Avenue (a very grand name for an alleyway) is by 3Dom and features one of his surreal and dreamlike characters that immediately tell you who the artist is. The only other artist in Bristol with whom his work could be confused is Sled One.
3Dom, St Mark’s Avenue, Bristol, September 2019
There is some deep pathos in this scene, in the way that the character is looking at a small flower plucked from the human-created devastation all around. An environmental message here. I don’t know how old the piece is, a few years at least, but I am still excited by discovering it.
If you’d like to see more from this artist/tattooist check out his Instagram account
When I first saw this piece by Marvin or Marlon it was partially covered by a canopy to protect it from the rain/sun and as a result all I could see was the frog. It wasn’t until I returned the following day that I could see the frog in the context of the whole picture.
Marvin or Marlon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This is a very clever stencil, with a black and white section showing a shopping trolley abandoned in a wetland and to the right a contrasting full colour stencil of a tree frog. The picture tells a story of environmental degradation and the beauty of nature that is compromised.
Marvin or Marlon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The star of the piece though must be the frog, although my photograph doesn’t even begin to do it justice. Another cracker from Marvin or Marlon at Upfest.
written on returning from a two day conference on environmental communications. We really do have so very little time remaining to prevent both a biodiversity and climate catastrophe. Time to write to your MPs or political representatives and ask them what they are doing about these two growing issues which will have impacts far greater than any banking crisis we have ever seen.
Andrew Burns Colwill is a great Bristol artist and one who has championed environmental awareness vigorously in recent years, particularly with his 20:50 vision pieces. At Upfest 2017 he really excelled himself with this magnificent polar bear sitting on what at first appears to be a piece of ice, but which is actually a pick up truck floating in a sea of plastic.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
His ongoing commentary on the destruction of our planet, and visions of what it might look like in 2050 results in a series of haunting images, of which this is one. A prophet of what might be, if we don’t pull our fingers out and get things sorted. Andrew Burns Colwill, like many others in the environmental movement, has been talking about plastic for some time…at last it feels like the government is listening.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
This is one of the best pieces of the 2017 festival, and the good news I understand is that it is here to stay. The Coopers Arms pub, where this piece can be found, will be keeping it. ABC’s fine art pedigree shine through in this work and he is truly the king of murals in Bristol. I salute you.
I have been hanging on to these pictures for a long time now. They are a set of works that were drawn and pasted up by Jonesy for the Human Nature project in Leonard Lane in July 2015. These are harrowing drawings that highlight some of the perils threatening our environment and wildlife. There is a tortured feeling to these pictures.
Jonesy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, August 2015
Jonesy is probably better known for his sculptures, and I thoroughly recommend taking a look at some of his work on this Inspiring City website.
Jonesy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, August 2015
Each of these images is nightmarish and foreboding. Knowing what we know now about Trump and his intentions these warnings have even more potency about them.
Jonesy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, August 2015
Leonard Lane has become a bit tatty since the Human Nature project and it could really do with a Human Nature II project – nature fights back. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Natural adventures 