5145. M32 roundabout (462)

Merny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Merny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

“I’m avin this trolley”. How skilful Merny is as a storyteller… even with her back turned to us you can tell this is an elderly lady making a grab for a trolley outside a supermarket. A lady unshakable in her determination to have what she has set her eyes on – we’ve all encountered this lady at some time in our lives.

Merny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Merny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

Merny’s naive style works perfectly for this scenario, and there is an honesty and authenticity in his work, which contributes to the storytelling. As with all his works, Merny has added a series of numbered pointers, suggesting there is a key explaining the elements of the picture, such a clever and compelling mechanism. There is always so much to enjoy about Merny’s work.

1090. Stokes Croft

I have had this piece sitting on my ready to publish file for several months, but just never got round to posting about it. It has long since gone now, but was on this door, next to the Matchbox Gallery for quite some time. It is by Drew Copus, an artist who lives in Hastings, Sussex. It would seem that he has visited Bristol on a few occasions, and I have more of his art somewhere in my files.

Drew Copus, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016
Drew Copus, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016

Although this piece might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I have to say I rather like it. It is cheeky and rude and has three random cockroaches, which kind of appeals to me. It has a bit of edge to it, and I like the way the eyes of the lady are obscured deliberately by the tagging. More from Drew, when I can find it.