This distinctive mural is by Danish artist No Title. From his biography in the Upfest programme we are told that he is influenced by organic natural structures and the systems of the body. Well this piece certainly runs true to form then.
The simple two-tone scheme lends itself to picking out the details of the piece and works as a kind of reverse silhouette. Interesting work, full of symbolism.
Lobbed over the hedge
laughed about then forgotten
a new life begins.
by Scooj
Life is so full of surprises, and this piece by Silent Hobo rounded off a fantastic walk around Bristol during which I found several artworks completely new to me. The piece is tucked away on the side of a shop, and easily missed if you approach it from the wrong direction without looking back.
In this piece we see a fabulous blend of urban landscape in the form of the M32 and nature trying to get a grip from the ground upwards. The beautiful girl seems to be caught in the middle of the natural world and development… something of a conundrum for us all.
I love the work of Silent Hobo, particularly his characters who seem to have so much soul and mystery about them. This is a magnificent and somewhat unexpected piece.
It’ll end in tears
nature waking up early
just you mark my words.
by Scooj
.
Crocus spears emerge
snowdrops now in reverence
The land is waking.
.
by Scooj
Am I mistaken?
I think I heard the call of
a green woodpecker.
by Scooj
Another South American artist at Upfest 2018, this time a Peruvian who is based in Barcelona, Bronik. The hat is the clue to the origin of the artist, but as I mentioned in the Dinho Bento piece two posts ago, there is something about the continent of South America that seems to have its own style.
In this lovely piece, we see again a story of connection between people and nature. This appears to be an inescapable component of our lives and yet one that we seem to be ambivalent towards if it gets in the way of our lifestyles. Only today (I wrote this two days ago) the WWF announced that since 1970 we have lost 60% of vertebrate species. Shameful. That is in my lifetime. Art like this may be all we have to remember our beautiful planet by.
This piece sings to me. It gives me what I need to redouble my efforts to make a real difference in this world and to act at whatever levels I can to slow the rate of biodiversity loss. A while back I wrote a haiku about our self-destruction. It was called Ants and is as follows:
When we are long gone
you shall inherit the earth
take good care of it.
I hope it is not prophetic.
Yet another new wall for 2018, and how well it has been utilised by Dinho Bento. I guess this wall could have been split into two or three slots, but what a great decision to keep its integrity.
Dinho Bento is a Brazilian artist whose work seems to draw inspiration from the natural world. A quick glance at his Facebook feed tells you that he is interested in portraying the interconnectedness of humanity with our environment, and the organic green strands in this piece are a representation of that connection – or at least, that is my interpretation.
I can’t necessarily put my finger on it, but artists from different countries definitely have national styles, or perhaps continental styles, and this piece really screams out South America. I guess the more art you see, the more you recognise this phenomenon, and while it is not true of all artists, it is a real thing.
The natural world themes and story of this piece really chime for me. It is called ‘Listen to Nature’ – something I have done all my life. Great work Dinho Bento.
Well this was a nice surprise. You don’t get to see much of this kind of street art in Bristol, so it is great when visiting artists come and switch it up a bit.
As an aside, the expression ‘switch it up’ is new to me…in all my life I had never heard it until my fourteen year old daughter said it a few weeks ago and I told her it wasn’t a phrase. She just laughed at me. I had to go and look it up. Of course since then I have heard it quite a lot, and now am using it for the first time ever in writing. You saw it here first folks.
Jordan Lauder, A.K.A. Spray Saint is from Hemel Hempstead and has an awesome story to tell. I am not a follower of any faith, but I do believe in goodness and people having the chance to turn their lives around, and for Spray Saint finding God has helped him to find some peace. I really recommend that you take a look at a video he made about his journey.
His leopard piece in St Werburghs tunnel is beautifully worked in blue tones and has a real sense of movement about it. As I said at the start, we just don’t get to see much work like this in Bristol and I really hope he comes to visit again, and wish him well on his continuing journey.
Love for Mother Earth;
was there any other way
for the nature boy?
by Scooj
Natural adventures 