There is a little corner of the M32 Spot where some new, small hoardings have been erected and Hypo, painting with Posh and Kool Hand wasted no time in decorating them.
This is a smaller piece than I am used to seeing from Hypo, but it contains many of the elements of his developing style, in particular a liberal sprinkling of small spheres reflecting the main five colours of the letter fills. Nice shout-outs to Ticks RIP and Minto. Fun under the M32.
Good morning and happy Boxing Day. Object… hasn’t been out on the streets much this year, which is a pity because his work is full of social commentary presented in a unique form.
This anti-establishment black and white collage piece mashed up with paint exclaims ‘don’t be their robot’. There are some other messages on the piece too. An ironic hoody with ‘Hug a Tory’ emblazoned on the front and a print of ‘Glad Colstons Gone’ – a reference to the toppling of the Colston statue in Bristol.
The centrepiece is a collage robot which is rather intimidating and appears to be armed to the teeth. References to oppression and AI are present in this nightmarish scene. Object… is so very good at this kind of stuff and his work is quite unique.
Alongside some of the ramps of the DIY skate park under the M32 are some low hoardings which play host to an array of graffiti, and every once in a while to something quite classy.
This is a piece by Werm, one of the most regular and prolific graffiti writers in Bristol. The letters have been reduced in height from his normal proportions, and are nicely designed to fit into this low space. |There is a winning colour combination of red and lime green going on here, with some nice darker green lines, adding perspective and seven starbursts to finish. Nice work from Werm.
There are a lot of contenders for surging artist of the year in Bristol, and what I mean by that is artists who have been about a while, but taken huge steps forward in 2025. Candidates would include, Zinso, Asre, Creamylines and of course, Posh.
In the latter half of the year, Posh appears to have been concentrating on his graffiti writing. His style is difficult to pin down, but I would describe it as ‘busy abstract scribble’. It is obvious that there are some letters here, but far less obvious what those letters might be. Posh likes to work with darkish colours, and has used this blue/green combination a few times recently. This is a nice piece, tucked away in a corner of the M32 spot.
By now, regular readers will know that I am very fond of the work of Creamylines and will note that I am thrilled by the uptick in his activity this year. This particular piece, underneath the busy M32 motorway, is a little larger than most of his work to date.
Unusually, this piece is dominated by reds and purples, where many of his other pieces tend to be yellows, greens and blues. The piece is crammed full of people, eyes and mountains, all set below a glorious red rising sun, with his customary silhouetted birds. A piece full of connection with nature and our surroundings.
On a column a few meters away, I found this small piece by Creamylines, which although dogged with graffiti that reads “Do you remember who you are?” “Everything and nothing”, gives us a sense of a slightly more refined work from the artist, which might have been painted with a brush rather than spray paints. All good work from the busy artist.
Ahh, a wonderful triptych of writing either side of a central character by messrs Ryder, Jest Soubriquet (LWT) and Neddy Ned Ned, respectively, in one of my favourite Bristol spots.
The writing on the left is by the wonderful Ryder, who doesn’t paint as much as he used to, but still manages to take a break from family responsibilities once in a while. Classic, tidy writing from him.
The portrait piece in the middle by Jest Soubriquet, who goes by the name Likeswantu, is a perfect foil for the two pieces of greyscale writing either side. The portrait may not be his best, but it works so well in this situation, and the eyes with drops are really effective.
To the right, the letters WISKA reflect the colours of Ryder’s writing. Neddy Ned Ned is one of those artists who doesn’t seem to paint all that often, but who has a strong presence on the city. The letters are well presented and the 3D drop shadow looking cool in purple and white. The whole triptych is painted on a swirling cosmic background with a touch of green. A fine collaboration.
This is one of my favourite spots in Bristol, and is the perfect place for a double (and sometimes triple) collaboration. This time, Mesk has combined his talents with ES3 (an artist I don’t know), set on a sharp yellow background.
Mesk has kept things simple, which is incredibly effective in this case. His overlapping letters cascade from left to right in a slightly decreasing height. The tidy fill in four wavy horizontal bands is all that is needed here, and the solid border/drop shadow does some of the ‘heavy lifting’. A phenomenal piece.
To the right, ES3, who I assume was visiting Bristol, and whose work I am not familiar with, has painted a fun combination piece. A cat character with crazy eyes is painted alongside the letters ES3, which mirrors the fill style of the adjacent Mesk piece, but in red colours. The piece is rounded off with a drop shadow and blue border. Definitely a gratifying find.
Noise has been painting in Bristol for a little over two years now, and I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting him. I guess our clocks just aren’t synchronised – I tend to go for my exploratory dog walks at lunchtime or after work usually on weekdays, so I imagine Noise’s paint time pattern doesn’t match… or maybe we just haven’t been at the same place at the same time. It can happen that way.
This is a big fat piece with big fat letters, which is what Noise does best. His letters are like a visual version of onomatopoeia, in so much as their size and imposition looks like noise to me. Does any of that make sense? The letters are filled with yellow, and some murky muddy colour, I suppose I would describe the piece as mustard noise. Great stuff.
I wish I had photographed this piece before it got tagged up at the base, because it is another truly classy column piece by Silent Hobo underneath the M32. I have noticed that many of Silent Hobo’s recent pieces have a rather melancholic tone, and I wonder if he is expressing himself through his art and the stories it tells.
In this piece, a young man is looking rather sad, and has a wooden stake piercing his heart. I would interpret this as being heartbroken, but perhaps I am reading too much into it. What I can say is that Silent Hobo’s portrayal of Bristol youth and their preoccupations and joys is unparalleled.
It has been enjoyable to watch as Astrea becomes more bold with her artwork and the spots she is choosing to post. She seems to be settling on a style that is all her own and quite Gothic in its appearance.
Using the colours red, black and white, which contrast superbly (a combination much used by Decay in his early days), she has created an attractive abstract design. Tucked away on the edge of a long hoarding, I would expect this piece to be around for a while. Great progression.
Natural adventures 