When I saw this back in 2016 I was still at the early stages of learning about the street art scene in Bristol (in fact I am still learning every day) and I knew little about the RAW crew and the artists constituting it. While it is obvious that the character on the right is by Jaksta (the medallion gives this away) the writing is less obvious.
Jaksta and Ware?, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
It looks like the letters say WARE to me, but here I am showing my ignorance because I don’t know the artist at all. The writing is beautifully executed and I love the musical notes sitting on the midway line on the blue letters. A really nice piece of street art for the festival.
You can see that I am having yet another trawl through my archives, bringing out some real gems that have been left behind. Part of the reason is that due to the Easter break and a bereavement, I haven’t been around to take many pictures and so don’t have too much contemporary Bristol street art to show you.
Jaksta, M32, Bristol, March 2016
This is a wonderful piece by Jaksta, a member of the Read and Weep (RAW) crew (and several other crews too). I seem to remember this piece, at one of the tunnel entrances to the M32 roundabout was there for quite a while.
Jaksta, M32, Bristol, March 2016
At the time I took the picture, I didn’t know who the artist was which is probably why it ended up in my archive in the first place. I think that this is a really masterful piece, splitting the character into two colours is a fairly radical treatment, but somehow when you look at the piece, you barely notice the colour seprartion and see the character as a whole. Beautifully sprayed…big respect to Jaksta.
Writing about street/graffiti art in Bristol is a fun thing to do. Sure it is time consuming and can become a little obsessive, but like any pursuit it brings happiness. When the happiness stops, then I will stop doing it.
One of the rewards of doing what I do, is when you can put names to pieces that you see or have seen in the past. It is about observation and recall. It is about knowing things intimately. It is about connecting with your environment. There are parallels with being a nature boy too. Observation and connection.
Jaksta, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2016
I first saw this piece in May 2016, but didn’t know the artist (it is by Jaksta), so the pictures remained in my archives. Then, while doing some research for the RAW Upfest wall, I came across Jaksta’s Instagram account, and in his images was this piece at the M32 roundabout. Although I still know precious little about the artist, I do know what to look for in his art and how to recognise it. I also know I have more of his work in my archives. The point is I now feel comfortable posting his work.
Jaksta, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2016
The piece makes reference to the film scarface, and is a brilliant charicature, although every time I look at it I see Peter Beardsley, former Everton and England footballer. Is that bad of me? More to come from Jaksta.
The fourth piece looking from left to right on the RAW wall at Upfest is by Jaksta, who has sprayed a great caveman character sandwiched neatly between Rusk and Ryder. I don’t know an awful lot about Jaksta, but I think he comes from Swindon. I have seen a few of his pieces around the place in Bristol, but I don’t think I have yet posted any.
Jaksta, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jaksta is clearly held in very high regard by his RAW peers, as each of them told me how good he is when I spoke with them. I think by the time I got to see his work here, he was already working on another piece nearby. I will try to dig out more of his work.
Natural adventures 