This piece from Decay was painted around the time of the introduction of lock down and was a great message for people to take the lock down restrictions seriously. Street artists have definitely played their party in broadcasting good messages during this pandemic. More recently some works are a little more critical of the government’s handling of the situation, but no surprises there.
Decay, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2020
Decay is such a consistent artist always putting out clean and tidy writing beautifully executed. There is one thing that perplexes me about this piece, and it is the eyes with wings bookending the writing. Are these the work of Decay or another artist? I think it is Decay, but it isn’t quite in his style. Answers on a postcard…
I was familiar with the M32 Spot some time before I started photographing street art, because I used to drop my then 12 year old son off for wet-weather skateboarding. The M32 Spot DIY skatepark was pretty much the only (free) skate park option when it rained, and for a skating obsessed boy this was the destination of choice. That boy turns 18 next weekend. Where did that time go?
Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020
This lovely piece by Feek, like so many pieces by the artist, really chimes with the skating community. The painting features a monster contributing to the DIY building of the skate park. My favourite bit… his signature in the teeth.
I love this for lots of reasons. Firstly because it is by John D’oh and secondly because it is a stencil, but mainly because it is overtly critical of the Wetherspoon owner Tim Martin, one of the most odious characters to have emerged from the Brexit debate. This man ranks as one of the supreme self-interested businessmen who puts making money for his business and for himself above the interests of the country. This attitude was exposed in the early days of lock down when Martin was calling for leniency for pubs and to allow them to remain open. Sod the virus eh?
John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020
Neatly placed on one of the columns under the M32, this piece is a beacon of hope, in that in poking fun at Wetherspoon it reinforces the responsible approach to protecting ourselves from coronavirus. I applaud this political commentary piece.
Of course you’d expect Rezwonk to be quick out of the blocks once the lock down restrictions eased, I guess it is the clause that allows you to ‘exercise’ for as long as you’d like that has made the difference to street artists being able to paint pieces without stressing about the rules.
Rezwonk, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2020
This is a complex REZER design in fairly basic colours, but it has been carried off with real style and panache. With pieces as complex as this, I just can’t get my head around how the artist sees what they are doing – incredible skills really. A high quality Rezwonk burner.
I don’t know this artist’s street name, but I call him Taboo because I use the convention of naming him after the letters he writes. His Instagram account is @forbidden_association which doesn’t tell us much more about him.
Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
This new piece in Dean Lane is really nicely done and incorporates Tom Cat from Tom and Jerry. The letters, which spell out TABOO, are nicely done and have a chunky heavy look about them which is typical of the artist. If you are looking for a light touch, fine detail and finesse, you are unlikely to find it here, and yet the character element of the piece has a much softer touch. A really nice and rather unusual piece.
I watched Zake as he was preparing for this piece, but, having not met him and not knowing what he looked like, I didn’t stop long enough to make introductions. Added to which he was teaching a friend how to use spray paints and I didn’t want to interfere, especially as I think it was the first time she had ever held a spray can.
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2020
The final piece is fabulous and not unlike one that he painted at the other end of the tunnel back in November last year. The rather unusual face has a hand sprouting from the cheek, giving the whole thing a slightly more animated feel than a face on its own. I always love to see Zake’s work, and to have almost met him was an added bonus.
Ah what joy, a fabulous new piece from Hazard in the middle of St Paul’s. I understand the piece has been painted in lieu of the St Paul’s carnival, which of course won’t be happening this year.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2020
Hazard has painted a stylish and colourful face with an incredibly ornate headdress loaded up with feathers and flowers. It is a really stunning piece and sits right up there with some of her very best work.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2020
I sometimes have to pinch myself when I see her work here in her home town, we are truly blessed and privileged to see her pieces around us and in our manor. I suspect that unlike much of her work, this one will be around for a long while. An outstanding beauty from Hazard.
What a very pleasant surprise finding this piece was. I haven’t seen a new piece from Angry Face for a few years, so stumbling across this one in the middle of the M32 roundabout a few days ago was a really great feeling. Of course it is all over Instagram now, but when I saw it I didn’t know about it and there is always something special about that feeling of discovery.
Angry Face, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2020
Angry Face is one of those artists whose work delivers what it says ‘on the tin’, in his case… an angry face. Sometimes his work can be a bit rough and ready, but this one is rather neat and has some really nice detail. What you are guaranteed to get with this artist is a bit of edge. Really looking forward to seeing more from Angry Face soon.
Doors 108 – a continuation of graffiti/street art doors
Let me open a small window into the world of Scooj during lock down. I am a civil servant and have been working full time throughout the coronavirus outbreak, indeed work has been somewhat busier than normal because of the virus and the communications work I do.
Mrs Scooj also works in the civil service, so we have both been working from home, pretty much flat-out for the last ten weeks or so. My wife drew the long straw and works in the study with our main desktop and I am working in the dining room.
Our teenage children are both at home and keeping them motivated is a real struggle and heaps a whole ton of additional pressure on all of us. Although we have has a few flare ups (inevitable in these circumstances) we have had some really good quality moments together as a family which I am sure we will all treasure. However, spare time just seems to evaporate.
All this is a bit of a long-winded way of saying that once again you are going to have to put up with archive images of doors, because although I do have some new door photographs, I can’t get anywhere near the desktop PC to prepare them for Thursday doors. So old graffiti/street art doors it is going to have to be. I hope you enjoy:
Laic217, Wilder Street, Bristol, January 2017Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, January 2017Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July20163Dom, John Street, Bristol, May 2016Sweet Toof, St Andrews Road, Bristol, January 2017Angerami, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016Laic217, King Square Avenue, Bristol, February 2017Jonesy, Leonard Lane, Bristol, August 2015
That’s all folks for another week. I hope you aren’t getting too tired of these urban graffiti doors. I hope I get a bit of time to share some more regular doors next week.
Take care, wherever you are.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you really ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
There is something about kingfishers and artists. They seem to represent beauty and freedom and perhaps the slightest connection with nature that our urban societies have, in the main, lost.
Kin Dose, North Street, Bristol, May 2020
This shutter piece had been commissioned and painted during lock down, and I have a feeling that Kin Dose also painted the adjacent shop shutter at the same time, although I have not managed to photograph that yet.
Kin Dose, North Street, Bristol, May 2020
The whole piece has a feeling of vibrancy and movement about it. The abstract background of pinks, blues and whites setting up a rich frame for the kingfisher itself. The bird is exquisitely painted (it is not the first time Kin Dose has painted a kingfisher in Bristol) and a massive asset to this end of North Street.
Natural adventures 