Hiccup – Natural adventures

6783. St Werburghs tunnel (480)

Bloem, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

I have said it many times, but Bloem is one of the most improved and gifted new artists painting the streets of Bristol, whose outstanding talent and creativity is put to good use for all to enjoy. It took me a long wait to finally get a decent picture of this piece, as there was a large black van parked in front of it for what seemed like an eternity. Patience is a virtue, and it was well worth waiting to get a shot from the front.

Once more, Bloem includes some of her favourite elements, including the hand with pointy fingernails, a chain and a beautiful flower. These elements bind together nicely, and I daresay that there is a fair amount of conscious or unconscious symbolism going on here. I think that the grey plants are orchids and if we are talking of symbolism, they are associated with love, beauty and refinement.

The big orange centrepiece flower looks like a chrysanthemum and acts as a fabulous focal point of the piece. Not only is the composition original and beautiful, but it is really well executed too. Great work from Bloem.

6542. Frome Side (41)

Bloem, Frome Side, Bristol, November 2024

This is a magnificent column piece under the M32 from Bristol artist Bloem. The spiked ball and chain should come as no surprise really as these motifs appear in her work, whether her artwork or her jewellery. Bloem seems to like sharp objects and chains and is mastering the latter in particular.

There is humour alongside the threat in this piece, with a fun smiley in the middle of the ball. What is interesting to note in this piece is the amount of depth Bloem has managed to create by using light and dark shades. This is a developing aspect to her work which was quite flat when she started painting walls. A great piece from an artist who is just getting better and better all the time.

Bloem

A gallery of wonderful street art and graffiti writing from Bristol artist Bloem (AKA Hiccup).

Instagram: @bloem_uk

Instagram Jewellery @hiccup.uk

All photographs by Scooj

Bloem, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024

Bloem, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024

Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024

Sub and Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024

Bloem, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023

Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

Hiccup (Bloem), Purdown, Bristol, September 2023

Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

Hiccup (Bloem), M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

Hiccup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Hiccup, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2023

Hiccup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

6350. Muriel Alleyway (13)

A rising star in the Bristol street art scene, although she probably doesn’t realise it, is Bloem, who is gaining confidence in her work and growing from day to day and piece to piece. This one was painted during Bristol’s smallest street art festival organised by Rtiiika at the end of July this year, on a gorgeously warm and sunny day.

This shutter piece, painted in the colours of Spode Italian plate tableware, is a magnificent tribute to how far this artist has come in such a short space of time. (Note to self – Bloem to be my next gallery collection). Bloem had some fun painting this piece, and left the little white circle in the middle, which had a tag saying ‘TOY’ in it, as the last bit she painted.

There are all the elements that Bloem can be associated with incorporated within the piece; a hand with long fingernails clutching a spiky chain (a motif she uses a lot in her jewellery work) and a beautiful flower in full bloem (did you see what I did there?). Wonderful stuff.

5956. M32 roundabout J3 (565)

There is so much to like about Bloem’s work at the moment, and more than that, she is a really lovely person and talented artist and jewellery craftswomen. Her pieces are becoming more confident with each trip out, and she is spreading her wings, improving all the time.

This piece on the roundabout contains a few themes that she specialises in, for example the hand with sharp nails and the old-style brick mobile phone, with keypad. Springing from the phone display is a tangled growth of flowers, complete with personalities. The whole piece is set on a glorious red backdrop softened with a few patterns. This is truly stunning work from Bloem.

5787. M32 Spot (180)

The day I met Bloem was a red letter day for me, as I have been hoping to bump into her for quite a while, and this was the piece she was painting at the time. Formerly signing her work as Hiccup, Bloem emerged onto the scene during 2023, with a wonderfully original creative approach, treating us to some pieces the likes of which we haven’t really seen in Bristol before.

Carrying the motif ACAB, the piece features a hand with long nails holding a small vase with flowers poking out of the top and a little creature peering over the lip of the vase. There is a little story going on here, I’m sure. To add a bit more interest, Bloem has created a patterned cloud background in pinks and greys. A lovely piece painted in her inimitable style.

5755. M32 roundabout J3 (545)

I was absolutely thrilled to meet Bloem for the first time at the weekend, when she was painting a new piece alongside SUB (yet to appear on these pages) at the M32 Spot at the top end of Stapleton Road. As is always the case with meeting most street artists for the first time, she was nothing like I had imagined and, in my old eyes, so very young.

This piece is a variation of one that she has painted in this spot before back in June 2023, but even in that short time there has been a definite tightening up and improvement in her can control and technique. The idea is a good one, and so original, you simply don’t see anything like her work from anyone else in Bristol. I am expecting great things from Bloem this year, and hope I am fortunate enough to watch her painting again sometime.

5542. Purdown (61)

Certain artists have a little ‘je ne sais quoi’ that makes their work exciting and interesting and compelling for me, and one of them is Hiccup (Bloem). Her work is highly original and eye-catching. She is working hard to improve and tries out new ideas with each piece she paints. If what she has produced so far is anything to go by, she will be a leading light in the city.

The Purdown walls tend to be square and reasonably small, perfect for honing your skills. In this piece Hiccup (Bloem) has painted a torso with interlocked hands bearing shiny bright red nails. Notable is the texture and depth that she has managed to achieve in the garment. Her style is still a little crude, but at the same time quite sophisticated too, as her technique improves, so will her finishing. A final touch… the rings on the fingers spell out ACAB – (All Cops Are Bastards).

5520. Cumberland Basin

Hiccup, or Bloem as she is signing herself, is fast becoming a favourite of mine. Not only is she developing her technique at lightening speed, she hasn’t been painting walls for all that long, but she has a wonderfully creative mind, and her work is exciting and varied. This ’tile’ piece is a great example of her versatility.

There is a little bit of the Willow Pattern in this tile piece, which adopts the colours of Delftware, or Spode. What Hiccup has done here is quite original, and certainly different from anything I have seen in Bristol before. There is a softness of touch in the piece, and an ease with itself, which I can’t properly articulate. The patterns and the letters are beautifully painted, and the flashes through the letters gives the tile a shiny look. Beautiful work from Hiccup. I would love to meet the artist, to be able to complement her on her great work.

5512. M32 roundabout (512)

Although this is the fourth piece I have posted by Hiccup (Bloem), it was actually the second one I photographed, and at the time of capturing it, I don’t think I knew who it was by, so it drifted into the dark depths of my archive. On seeing more of her work and locating her Instagram account(s) I was able to identify and start posting her work.

The photographs are terrible, and at certain times of day, if the sun is shining, this stretch of wall can be near impossible to photograph without a certain amount of flaring. Stupidly, I never returned to get some better pictures, so this is it I’m afraid. There are some recurring themes in this piece – a flower with a wire for a stem and speakers for petals, and a hand with pointy nails. Hiccup is a very creative lady and as well as her street art, she makes jewellery and paints nails. I am so looking forward to seeing what she comes up with in future.

	scooj on Shards
	M. on 7397. Turbo Island
	M. on 7397. Turbo Island
	beth on Shards
	scooj on Thursday doors – 8 Janua…

	scooj on Shards
	M. on 7397. Turbo Island
	M. on 7397. Turbo Island
	beth on Shards
	scooj on Thursday doors – 8 Janua…

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