Tag: Graffiti

357. Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London

Time for a little bit of a diversion from Upfest 2016…just for a few moments. With my work taking me to London for two days a week now, I am taking advantage of staying over in areas where I get great access to the London street art scene. Shoreditch is obviously the most famous place to go, and so this week I took my first steps out into the streets.

Stinkfish, Rivington Road, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
Stinkfish, Rivington Road, Shoreditch, London, August 2016

I had no idea where I was going, but it didn’t take too long to come across some really great pieces. This is by one of the the best South American street artists around at the moment – Stinkfish. This piece, outside the Bedroom Bar on Rivington Street is much smaller than his works I am used to in Bristol, but it is no less impressive.

Stinkfish, Rivington Road, Shoreditch, London, August 2016
Stinkfish, Rivington Road, Shoreditch, London, August 2016

Everything is here…the photo captured image, yellow faces and skin, and designs emanating from and around the heads of the subjects. I was very happy to find this and also to be able to recognise the artist immediately. Rewind 18 months and I would have known nothing, and would possibly have walked past without taking a closer look. I am happy now to be able to enjoy street art and share it with you. A good feeling.

356. Upfest 2016 (15)

This is a chimp by Matti. It is absolutely fantastic and one of my ‘best in show’ pieces from Upfest 2016. Matti is an artist who is based in Bristol, and works in the design, media and print industry. I don’t think he does much street work, which is a pity really.

Matti, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Matti, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Matti has a fabulous website, very professionally put together, and ideal for a client base. For me though, I like to keep things simple (reading my blog should confirm that), and some of the descriptions on his bio leave me a little cold – probably because I am not from the world of art and design – maybe I should study more…

Matti, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Matti, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

…anyway this is a chimp by Matti. It is in Ashton Gate School. It is brilliant.

355. Upfest 2016 (14)

This is an extraordinary and eye catching piece by yet another female artist at Upfest this year. I love this piece very much. The more you look at it, the more it can unsettle. The out-of-proportion eye, and absence of the other eye ‘obscured’ by hair looks a little strange. What emotions are being expressed? Other works by the artist share similar features.

Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I saw this piece in various stages of its development, and the final result is really stunning. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to speak with the artist Caro Pepe, from Argentina…she had enough trouble on the pavement with people squeezed between her and the parked car. It must have been very difficult to concentrate.

Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The previous incumbent at this address, number 74 North Street, was the wonderful N4T4 piece from last year’s festival. Two portraits, two very different styles, both excellent.

Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I will definitely be looking out for more of Pepe’s work, although I expect to see it on the world stage rather than the local Bristol one. Thank you Upfest! There is a fine interview with Caro Pepe on the Street Art Bio website which is well worth a read.

354. Upfest 2016 (13)

Miss Wah was definitely one of the most colourful artists at Upfest 2016, not only in her work but also in personality. She was very happy to talk about her work, in spite of me breaking her concentration and musical experience. I wrote a post recently about her work at Upfest 2015, and this reads as a bit of an extension to that.

Miss Wah, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Miss Wah, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I managed to photograph Miss Wah at work on the Saturday while she was using her Uni Posca pen to draw in detail, and then photographed the finished piece on the Sunday. I happened to notice that Miss Wah had been quite busy with stickers on lamp posts on the Saturday evening too!

Miss Wah, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Miss Wah, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Miss Wah’s work is in the Kawaii style and is a real winner for anyone into cute and cuddly art.

353. Upfest 2016 (12)

This is an interesting piece by one of the more enigmatic Bristol street artists, Tuco. He is both an artist and an appreciator of the art of others and his Instagram feed is full of pieces by other artists. He likes to paint with green, and for Upfest he created a great image of Gilbert – a children’s television character from a programme called ‘Get Fresh‘ from the mid 1980s. It is interesting that he started to paint in 1984 and appears still to be influenced in his work by the period.

Tuco, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tuco, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I rather like his Instagram profile that reads ‘Some of the stuff is by me. Some of the stuff isn’t by me. I like sausages and booze. You can like want you want! I’M FRIGHTENED OF BATS. #graffiti‘. I will be looking out for more of his work…if I can find it.

352. Upfest 2016 (11)

One of the artists I was most keen to meet at Upfest 2016 was Hannah Adamaszek. Her amazing works have only recently crossed my path, and put simply, I love her art. It is weird really, because her subject matter, and even her style, is not something I would naturally gravitate to, but I am so very taken with it. That is a good thing I suppose.

Hannah Adamaszek, Upfest Bristol, July 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, Upfest Bristol, July 2016

Sadly, I didn’t get to the area where she was working on the Saturday, and when I got there on the Sunday, she wasn’t there. I’m sure I’ll get to meet with her before too long, but in the interim, I will be more than satisfied with writing about her pieces.

Hannah Adamaszek, Upfest Bristol, July 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, Upfest Bristol, July 2016

This is a beautiful piece that was worked onto the walls of a primary school – lucky school children I say. This wonderful face is in the company of about a dozen other great street artists that I will post about in due course. It is all good.

351. Upfest (10)

On the Monday of Upfest, everything went a little strange. I had to dash over in my lunch break, so didn’t have much time and was walking pretty fast. What I noticed first was that there were very few people compared to the previous two days, and most of the people I saw were street artists from the weekend leaving a few ‘extras’ for us to admire.

Goin, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Goin, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

One such ‘extra’ was this piece by Goin, a French stencil artist with his roots in punk culture (sounding a bit like Tian). I posted about one of his works back in November 2015, but at that point I didn’t know who the artist was. This time I was there just as he sprayed the red writing. I asked who he was, but as this was a ‘naughty’ piece, he didn’t seem too keen to talk to me, and just wanted to get moving quickly. I then spotted this piece on his Instagram account a day or two later. I especially like this because it is witty, beautifully worked, subversive and I was there at its genesis.

350. Upfest 2016 (9)

Sometimes you see a piece and you just say to yourself ‘yes’. That was what I felt when I saw this beautiful dog by Loughborough street artist Buber Nebz. Perhaps he is better known for his Lego men that he paints, but his creation at Upfest is simply wonderful.

Buber Nebz, Upfest , Bristol, July 2016
Buber Nebz, Upfest , Bristol, July 2016

The whole composition just works really well. The gray shades and technique, but for me the composition is just perfect. The grumpy ginger bread man with legs missing and the fabulous expression on the dog possibly showing remorse.

Buber Nebz, Upfest , Bristol, July 2016
Buber Nebz, Upfest , Bristol, July 2016

I love this piece, but especially have in mind Frankie Beane while writing this post. One for the dog-lovers.

349. Upfest 2016 (8)

In the Upfest brochure…yes there was a brochure…there is an entry for ArquiCostura, but I think it may have been translated directly from her website using Google translate, and it is a little peculiar. I think it attempts to say that her work builds up pictures from the pixel size upwards, which I guess is how cross-stitch kind of works anyhow. Her work in the Steam Crane pub is absolutely wonderful, and set subtly at the back of the yard.

ArquiCostura, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
ArquiCostura, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

I believe from reading her Facebook page that she did another piece in Raleigh Road at the Tobacco Factory, but I don’t recall seeing it. I’ll have to go take another look. It is so refreshing to have needlework represented at Upfest which really does seem to embrace all forms of street art.

348. Upfest 2016 (7)

Meeting the artists was, for me, one of the great pleasures of being at Upfest this year, and so it was with stopping to chat for a while with ObjectØØØ. Heaven only knows how he and other artists managed to get on with their work with all the interruptions.

Object000, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Object000, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

ObjectØØØ is an artist I have been watching develop over the last year, as he has taken more to the street art scene. His works are so very distinct…unlike anything else I have seen on the streets. More of his works here and here.

Object000, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Object000, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This is another great piece by him and carries all the hallmarks of his work: a contorted body, a bird wing, tentacles and a phrase he uses a lot ‘eat the rich’. I find his work unusual and also rather inspiring. His work oozes with angst and rage but to me also seems to be striving for a freedom just out of reach.

I do hope I’m not turning into too much of a street art critic/bore.