Claro_que_sssnoh, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2023
It feels like quite a while since I last posted a piece by Claro_que_sssnoh, and even longer since I saw evidence of a paint jam by him and his Spanish compatriots in the Sunday Lovers crew/collective.
Claro_que_sssnoh, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2023
I like the wall at Peel Street Green, because its layout lends itself to a gallery appearance, with each section of wall occupied by a single piece. Also there is very little tagging that happens here, rather there is a rolling replacement of each piece with a new piece. Claro_que_sssnoh has written his usual HONS letters in his unique style and added in plenty of decorations to his light off-white fill. The numbers 23 tell you it was painted in 2023 and the letters SL refer to Sunday Lovers. It is always good to fine pieces by Claro_que_sssnoh.
Although Halloween was quite some time ago, I still have several ‘horror’ pieces in the pipeline, including this beauty by Biers. I met the artist about a week after he painted this one, and he said that he didn’t like it very much. I quite often find that artists can be their own most ferocious critics. From my perspective, I think this is a great piece, very much in the Halloween spirit of things.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023
The writing spells out WD40, which is difficult to pick out unless you know, and follows Biers’ usual format of writing his letters and incorporating a character in the ‘0’. The character in this instance is Chucky from the Child’s Play franchise – films I have never actually seen myself – horror is my least favourite genre of films… they scare me. Wonderful work from Biers. Boo!
For many years, and more acutely this year, there has been a massive focus on the issue of compensation overflows in the UK. These overflows are essentially permitted activities of pumping raw sewage from water treatment plants, when heavy rainfall makes the processing of large quantities of sewage almost impossible. Some (and I include myself in this) point the finger at underinvestment in the infrastructure of water treatment plants, rather favouring healthy annual handouts to investors and shareholders.
The problem existed before the privatisation of water companies, but has been exacerbated by privatisation and a growing population and demand on the existing infrastructure, that simply isn’t up to scratch. Much easier to lean on a polluting permitted activity than to spend money fixing the problem.
Privatisation of water has, in my view, been a disaster, making a few investors, chief executives and foreign companies very wealthy indeed, but leaving the necessary investment and impact on the environment way behind. The public have had enough and are demanding that something is done about the situation. National commentary and pieces of art, like this one from John D’oh reflect this public mood.
John D’oh, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023
In its minimalist way, this stencil by John D’oh distils the issue and makes it simple. ‘Shit doesn’t just happen (we have known about this problem for decades and done nothing about it), clean our rivers’. I have worked in the water/environmental sector my entire life, and John D’oh has nailed it. Clever placement too with the River Avon in the background. This is an understated and poignant protest piece. Bravo John D’oh.
In writing about this piece, I am beginning to have doubts that I have identified the artists correctly. Everything about the piece points towards Dott Rotten – the letter shapes, the fill patterns and the quality finish, but I might be wrong. The nagging doubt comes from the fact that Dott Rotten usually writes out SPOILT, but this says SORTS.
Sorts, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023
Chrome and black work well and the yellow border helps to lift the writing from the busy background, and happens to also match the double yellow lines in the road. If it is not by Dott Rotten, then I am struggling to work out who it is by – always go with your first impression!?
Update: Thank you, Paul – The piece is by Sorts and not Dott Rotten, but it is certainly a compliment to Sorts that I thought it might have been otherwise.
I usually associate Dun Sum with the spot in Lawrence Weston (L Dub), because that is where I have seen most of his work, but lately he has painted a couple of times in Bristol proper, this being a Halloween piece painted alongside Hypo, Zeks and DJ Perks. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, Hypo had already overpainted his own piece. I was lucky enough to bump into Dun Sum, Hypo and Zeks a couple of weeks later on the other side of the roundabout, and it was the first time I had met any of them. What lovely people.
Dun Sum, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Dun Sum is a wonderful artist in my view. He creates some incredibly original pieces usually with animals and usually full of imagination. In this Halloween piece, a bug of sorts seems to be powering up a pumpkin, but I guess the story is open to interpretation. The artwork is brilliant, and it is interesting to note that the way Dun Sum applies his paint looks much more like brushwork than spray paint due to the way he blends his colours throughout his work. I absolutely love this piece.
Haka and Logoe, Horfield skate park, Bristol, November 2023
I don’t tend to visit Horfield skate park all that often, even though it is one of the closer spots to where I live, mainly because the turnover there is disappointingly slow. On the upside, when I do make the trip, there are usually two or three new pieces to enjoy. This one is a rather nice little collaboration from Logoe and Haka.
Haka and Logoe, Horfield skate park, Bristol, November 2023
The duck character on the left is by Haka, and for once I am stumped – I don’t know if the duck is from Haka’s imagination or is from a children’s picture book, either way he is rather fun. Logoe completes the collaboration with his straight-line script writing, great fills and oval spots. The background colour helps to lift the whole thing and adds vibrancy and joy to a rather dull concrete corner of the Horfield Leisure Centre.
On walking to the station to return to Bristol from a meeting in Nottingham, I had a few spare minutes to explore the area near the station, and I am pleased that I did, although I stressed about cutting it a bit fine with my train departure time. The light was also diminishing… I am not a big fan of these short day length. I found a few pieces, including this beautiful robin by Steve (STE).
Steve (STE), Nottingham, November 2023
I know nothing of the artist, but on seeing this stunner, will certainly be looking out for him in future. I tend to get so wrapped up in the Bristol street/graffiti art scene, that I forget there is a massive amount of talent beyond the West Country. The beautifully captured robin, in full song, is an absolute triumph, it is rare to see a bird looking so natural in street art work. The words Sierra, Tango, Echo form a backdrop to the bird, and make up Steve’s Instagram handle, I am not sure what they mean, but could they be followed with Victor, Echo? A stunner for sure.
A gallery of fabulous graffiti writing from Bristol’s Phour.
All photographs by Scooj
Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2023Phour, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023Phour, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023Phour, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2022Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2022Mena and Phour, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2022Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021Phour, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2021Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2021Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020Phour, Hepburn Road, Bristol, September 2020Phour, Dean Lane, Bristol September 2020Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2020Phour, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2020
A short while ago, I had a team meeting in Nottingham and decided that It would be wise to travel up the evening before, because it is a bit of a schlep from Bristol and I would have been late for the start of the meeting if I travelled up on the day. I have only been to Nottingham twice before, and remember little of both trips. On the day of the meeting, I got up early and took an aimless walk to see if I could find any street/graffiti art and some doors for Thursday doors. It was a very productive walk on both counts.
Kid30, Nottingham, November 2023
I found this outstanding shutter piece by Kid30 near Sneinton Market (I think) and although I haven’t seen much of his work, I am familiar with him thanks to a couple of visits he made to Upfest in Bristol. Kid30 specialises in deconstructing cartoon characters, and then stitching them back together again in a random assembly. In this fabulous piece I can find Top Cat, Krusty the clown, Bender from Futurama, Pluto and the Pink Panther. Not a bad collection in one piece really. Look out for more from this lightening visit to Nottingham.
One of the things I love about street and graffiti art is that much of it captures the mood of the times we live in and reflects local or world events back to us, often with a political message or commentary. Wars receive a great deal of attention, for example the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a spate of passionate and moving street art (Gallery to come on this one). Now we are seeing a proliferation of pieces representing the horrors unfolding in Palestine and Gaza.
3Dom, The Carriageworks, Bristol, November 2023
3Dom, has painted a rather grim piece that represents the inequity and imbalance that is at play in the war on Hamas by Israel. The piece suggests that the USA and UK are complicit in the Israeli bombing of Gaza, and cleverly conveys the confined nature of the Gaza strip. What is happening in Gaza is beyond comprehension and reaffirms my view that nationalism, whipped up by dictators and fanatics (drunk with power), is an evil thing. Well done 3Dom for visually articulating the horror of this war so well.
Natural adventures 