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Unlikely result
although on their current form
not so unlikely
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by Scooj
Tag: Japan
4482. Upfest 2022 (8)
It is difficult to know where to begin with this outstanding street scene by Dan Kitchener, whose work just seems to get better and better. Painted on one of the larger Upfest walls, the typical street scene features tons of smaller screens displaying Japanese advertising and anime figures cheek by jowl.
The wall is not easy to photograph, so I have broken the piece down into sections or chunks to give a taste of the intricacy of each section. At the base of the piece, a wet street scene with a car and pedestrians holding umbrellas, is reminiscent (as I have said many times before) of the dystopian scenes from Blade Runner, a theme present in so much of Dan Kitchener’s work.
Above the street level, a bank of advertising screens and hoardings illuminate the dark street. It would be interesting to have a translations of all the writing, to understand better what is happening here.
It is amazing to see this all as one piece by one artist, because it comes across as if each section is by a different artist, if you see what I mean. I don’t know how long it took Dan Kitchener to paint the piece, but I know he works fast, and I imagine this represents 2-3 days of painting. An utterly outstanding piece that transports you halfway across the world, if even for a short while.
3997. Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare
The artist needs no introduction, but for those of you not so familiar with some of the bigger names in street art, this is an incredible geisha piece by Dan Kitchener or Dank as he is sometimes known.
Everything about this piece is close to perfection. The location and wall, the proportions and of course the artwork. The parked car at the bottom left is the only blemish, and even that has little impact on the magnificence of the mural.
It seems that Dan Kitchener never stops. Every time I surf Instagram, he seems to have yet another new mural or canvass piece on the go, most of which are strongly themed with these Japanese street scenes, and for me have a touch of ‘Bladerunner’ about them.
To combine the geisha with the street scene is a clever shift, bringing together two elements that he loves to paint into one piece. The top half features a white-faced portrait of a geisha fully decked out with her amazing hair decorations and headdress.
Underneath the beautiful lady is a street scene, with neon signs and wet weather, of course, that Dan Kitchener captures so well and presents us with something full of bustle and atmosphere.
A brilliant piece and fabulous gift to the people of Weston-super-Mare.
1170. Upfest 2017 (109)
It looks like Hoshiko had a pretty miserable time at Upfest this year. He wrote over his own piece saying what it should have looked like, but for the weather. It was abandoned and unfisnished, but it doesn’t detract from his participation and effort at the festival. He was not alone, some artists didn’t even show up.
Hoshiko is based in the UK and works mostly with stickers and mixed media paste ups. Heavily influenced by Japanese culture (no shit Sherlock) he has a passion for robots and candy.
1092. Dean Lane skate park (83)
OK, so I’ve got a bit of an Elvs thing going on at the moment, but that is alright isn’t it? I mean it is my blog after all, and if I rather like something I feel it is the right thing to do to share it. Elvs really is a fabulous wildstyle writer, and I’m sure that even if you don’t like graffiti art, you can appreciate the great technical qualities of great writing.
28. Cottoperca gobio
Any readers who have not encountered this story on my blog before, I recommend you take a quick look at the first entry ‘an Ill Wind‘ to provide some kind of context. As you can see, this is the 28th excerpt from my 1988 journal, and it will appear meaningless without some context setting. The full catalog of chapters so far is in the ‘Falkland Journal, 1988’ category on the left of this page.
Monday 13 June 1988. Koei Maru 30
Spoke to Drin on the radio. JB is at this moment on the Right (one of the Falkland Islands fisheries patrol vessels), trawling. It looks very much like I’m on my own. I spent two hours talking to the Fishing Master. He and I now are in good form – he is a good man and cares for his crew. The contract should have included a certain amount of input from him. It was worked out by imbeciles who knew little about the fishing operation. I understand that now.
I have just been watching Crocodile Dundee, but at the critical moment have been cut off – a subtle lunch hint I think.
Spent the evening with Sato (gold tooth) and Naganuma and we watched a couple of porn videos. They became boring very quickly – the only interest I have is trying to understand why the hell people perform in such videos…are they desperate for money? or exhibitionists? very strange.
Tuesday 14 June 1988. Koei Maru 30
40 days to go!
I can’t believe that this is all I had to write on this day! wrote to Louise and Deb.
Prepared for fishing. Did some ace drawings I reckon.
Wednesday 15 June 1988. Koei Maru 30
Stand by at 0200 hours – what a nightmare. I hardly slept at all before and I had difficulty afterwards. False alarm, the sea was too heavy, so we moved to the southeast (Zone II).
Spoke with Drin and some idiot on the Falkland Right. People really piss me off sometimes.
Oops I think it was Dave ‘intense’, the one who I didn’t know.
I have arranged for Mr Ikido to deal with the problem of trawlers and traffic – delegation, that is the key to power.
Smoking still – I wish I would stop, but the day drags on so.No smoking before 1200 hours but maybe 4-8 after that. I am looking forward to going home, not least because I’ll be able to stop. (Something that took a further twelve years to conquer!)
No more pictures today. I think that stand by tomorrow is at 0300 hours. Bed early tonight.
I am watching a Japanese TV drama (It’ll last for hours) about blackmail – they really go in for these ‘video dramas’.
My spots under my stubble are still flourishing. I feel fairly ugly at the moment, but my spirits are high.
Thursday 16 June 1988. Koei Maru 30
What a bloody day. Quite exciting really, but very tiring and bloody annoying when the bastard Fishing Master holds you responsible for all the problems.
Caught this amazing monster fish, like a giant goby or blenny and called Cottoperca gobio – yellow, green and gold with a beautiful dorsal fin. See photos.
The whole long-lining process is a bit of a miracle. A production line for the set – really primitive, but thoroughly effective.
Visualisation and key to setting a long-line on board the Koei Maru 30 in Falkland Islands waters, June 1988. Taken from my final report.
Saw a whole bunch of gentoo penguins, loads of albatross too – a real wildlife day. It would be great if I didn’t have to bloody do something! 30 more days of this – I may go bananas!
I’m so bloody tired I feel like a zombie – I may if I’m lucky, grab 6 or 7 hours sleep tonight. I pray for bad weather!
BONKERS.
Friday 17 June 1988. Koei Maru 30
Another long hard day. Some very interesting things coming up, so I was happy. I got some corals, with any luck I could get them home to Deb, or add them to my collection.
I am still motivated by marine life – there were loads of echinoderms and possibly crinoids today, as well as some ace fish, but none of it what the Fishing Master wants. He and the crew are restless.
A penguin was gaffed up.
The sea was rough today and waves were pouring into the factory deck.
I am once again very tired and want to go to sleep, but I’m sure that, like last night, I won’t find it easy.
Roll on July!
Natural adventures 