Mudra

4793. Cumberland Basin

Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

Mudra is an artist whose work simply goes from strength to strength. His writing in carefully selected colour palettes has a carefully designed feel to it. His letters tend to follow a format not dissimilar to SkyHigh’s in that each one is painted in its own distinct font, and the whole thing cobbled together seamlessly, which is a clever approach to graffiti writing.

The colours work extremely well and are particularly effective against the grey buffed wall, and the house, between the D and R, is an interesting feature. How far the artist has come is a relatively short space of time.

4787. Dean Lane skate park (535)

Watching Mudra develop over the past couple of years has been one of the great pleasures in recording the street art scene in Bristol. From his early colourful portraits to his sophisticated style of writing, he has upped his game time and again and continues to improve with every piece.

The writing, in a magnificent palette of blue and yellow, spells out Mudra with a spectrum of styles and sizes for the letters, but somehow all very recognisably Mudra’s work. The monkey/house character in the middle of the piece is a bonus, and serves to add interest, without which the piece wouldn’t look complete. I love the yellow wedge too, a lovely effect.

4624. Upfest 2022 (39)

Decay and Mudra, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It is always great to see Decay painting in Bristol, too much of a rarity these days, and even better when he teams up with Mudra. Although their styles are totally different, they have managed to work well together on this hoarding to divide the space up and allow their pieces to ‘talk to each other.

To the left are some fine initials, DK, bound together by the irrepressible ‘Chuck’, who is very much missed in the city. To the right, Mudra has spelled out his name with an eclectic mix of letter styles, reminiscent of SkyHigh’s approach to writing. The black background brings out the best in both pieces on this collaborative board. Nice one.

4573. Dean Lane skate park (510)

In my view, street art and graffiti writing always look nicer on a buffed wall, although I’m sure that some purists would probably disagree with that. In this instance I think it holds true, and Mudra’s graffiti writing is presented beautifully.

Mudra has found a new level recently, and is constantly developing his letters, incorporating characters and looking at new shapes and designs. His work is along the lines of other artists whose letters each have a separate look and feel, the master of which is SkyHigh. I am definitely enjoying observing Mudra’s work develop.

4477. Dean Lane skate park (496)

I went in search of a Mudra piece and instead found this cat painted over the top of it, and my disappointment and pleasure were present in equal measure. It would have been nice to see the Mudra piece in all its glory, but it is a jungle out there. It would also be nice to have some clue about the artist who painted the cat… answers on a postcard.

I rarely post pieces from unknown artists, but I couldn’t resist this one. The artist has captured the cat’s expression really well, and the use of colours and overlapping lines works really well. This looks like a practice piece by an artist who knows what they are doing. A great find.

A gallery of outstanding work from Bristol street artist and writer Mudra

Instagram: @mudra_creates

Website: Mudra creates

all photographs by Scooj

Mudra, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2022

Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022

Mudra and Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

Flava136 and Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

Mudra, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2021

Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021

Nugmoose, Sage, Slakarts and Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

Nugmoose and Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2021

Mudra, Lawrence Hill Roundabout, Bristol, February 2021

Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021

Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020

Mudra, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2020

Mudra, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2020

4417. Elton Street (5)

I remember the first time I met Mudra, in October 2020, it was a socially distanced conversation under Brunel Way. He had only recently arrived in Bristol and was starting to leave his mark. Fast-forward eighteen months and Mudra has become part of the furniture here, and massively developed and improved his artwork.

This recent piece is one of several, by different artists, in Elton Street and part of a rather fine public gallery. In this piece, he spells out his name in a collage style, with each letter created in a different font, and it even looks like the ‘@’ (Mudra’s trademark signature) may have been stencilled. This is a nicely done, artistic piece that sits comfortably in this outdoor gallery.

4314. Dean Lane skate park (474)

This was something of a red-letter day for me, turning up at Dean Lane to find Mudra painting alongside Kosc and Flava136 (who has now changed his moniker to Saor). Unfortunately, Flava136’s piece had been painted over by the time I returned to get pictures of the completed works, but Mudra and Kosc’s were intact.

Mudra is an artist who, although he has only been painting in Bristol for a couple of years, has firmly established himself in the city and is definitely going from strength to strength. With each of his pieces, his confidence and dynamism grows, and I am thoroughly enjoying the ride.

This is a curious piece that, for once, doesn’t spell out Mudra, but instead incorporates the letters NTS, a crew name (I don’t yet know what it stands for). There is a typically stylised Mudra face with a giveaway coloured nose and for some utterly unknown reason a bird perching at a bird box. Great to see and great fun.

4259. St Werburghs tunnel (279)

Wowzer, a throwback word I rarely use, this is an absolute stunner from a pair of artists I wouldn’t have imagined working together, but as it happens the resulting collaboration is fabulous. The piece by Mudra and Kosc is a wonderful fusion of styles that is symmetrical and pleasing to the eye.

Set on a black background, which immediately gets things going in the right direction, the colourful writing and monochrome character complement each other very well. The letters spelling out MUDRA are by Mudra include a little character bird, adding a special touch to the letters.

Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022

The central character is another banger from Kosc, whose work is simply getting better and better. It is quite a disturbing portrait of a young woman with a section of her face, her left side, exposing her skull and teeth beneath. Exquisite work from Kosc, and a really nice and unusual collaboration from this pair. I sincerely hope it is the start of something rather than a one-off.

4200. Dean Lane skate park (454)

Hiding behind a row of bushes along the wall of Bristol South swimming pool is this fine new piece of graffiti writing from Mudra. Even through the winter hedge, his distinctive style of writing is identifiable and drew me over to take a closer look. Much of his writing layout is (in the words of a Monty Python sketch) thin at one end, much, much, thicker in the middle and then thin at the far end (Miss A, Elk theory on the brontosaurus).

The colours in the piece incorporate his favoured reds and mauves, tinged with some orange. The letters, spelling MUDRA, are nicely designed and cleanly painted as you’d expect, but no mean feat on this lumpy old wall. I was rather pleased to spot this one.

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