New Stadium Road – Natural adventures

5212. New Stadium Road (51)

Todoaciem, New Stadium Road, Bristol, April 2023

It feels like Todoaciem (who writes CIEM) has been a little quiet over the winter months, perhaps returning to his native Spain to keep away from the miserable British weather (my speculation), so it is great to see his work gracing the walls of our city once again.

This outstanding piece of calligraffiti shows off Todoaciem’s skill as a writer. Set out on a modest wall, with minimal footfall, the piece oozes class and really stands out. I know that there is at least one other recent piece by the artist in another part of Bristol (watch this space) so, with any luck, it is the start of some high quality calligraffiti to look forwar to this summer.

5153. New Stadium Road (50)

Klashwhensober, New Stadium Road, Bristol, March 2023

I met Klashwhensober shortly after he had ‘repaired’ this piece, which speaks volumes about how much the artist cares about his work. I know how important graffiti writing is to Klahwhnsober, nourishing him and providing a strong focus in his life.

This outstanding piece in the dark, sooty underpass shows Klashwhensober at his artistic best. Beautifully crafted letters with a stripy 3D drop shadow are filled with beautiful complementary colours and some ‘meteors’, leaving a trail in the lilac section. Another day and another fine creation from a lovely artist.

5142. New Stadium Road (49)

Risco, New Stadium Road, Bristol, March 2023

Not so long ago, some nasty people set fire to a car under this small subway. Now it might be my age, but I just don’t understand why people do this kind of thing – life is hard enough without mindless idiots making things more unpleasant for everyone around them. In spite of this, almost phoenix-like, Risco, known for his epic work, has crafted one of his skeletal pieces, using the sooty residue from the fire as his background.

The snake skeleton sits on top of a Claro_que_sssnoh piece and Haka piece, and gives them a second life after the fire. It is interesting to note that precious little tidy up has been done by Bristol City Council, apart from removal of the car, and it is the graffiti artists who have immediately moved in and brightened things up. You can be certain that a burnt out car and any damage caused in a more well-heeled area of Bristol would have been cleaned up immediately.

The paradox is that the Council are furiously buffing well known and much loved graffiti walls grey, in their war against ‘antisocial behaviour’, but they haven’t cleaned and painted the walls of this underpass which has been the site of far more serious anti-social behaviour, in my view. Double standards, appealing to the affluent and Pius communities in the City.

5123. New Stadium Road (48)

Taboo, New Stadium Road, Bristol, February 2018

Another root around in my archive unearthed this old one from February 2018, by Taboo, and if you look carefully to the left you can see the edge of a piece by Deamz. I still miss seeing Deamz’ work on our streets, even though he left for Tasmania several years ago – maybe one day he will return for a visit and decorate a wall or two.

I suspect that I have several more unpublished Taboo pieces lurking in my files, but this one stood out, most probably, because of the colour selections, with a transition from white to copper, with some interesting oranges and reds filling in the holes. This is a really nice piece of anti-style graffiti writing.

5031. New Stadium Road (47)

Dott Rotten, New Stadium Road, Bristol, February 2023

Shortly after I photographed this piece (within hours/days) a parked car was set on fire in this little underpass, and there was quite a lot of fire damage to the wall next to Dott Rotten’s work. You wonder what gets in to people sometimes. I would suggest that the council did something useful and bollarded-off this pedestrian tunnel, to stop cars parking here altogether.

As with so many pieces in Bristol at the moment, this one is a tribute piece to Ben Devine, who I am guessing was a friend of Dott Rotten’s. I think that this must have been painted on an anniversary, as there are several Ben Devine tributes in Dean Lane that have been around for about a year. Characteristically stylish, this is a touching stunner from Dott Rotten.

4990. New Stadium Road (46)

Claro_que_sssnoh, New Stadium Road, Bristol. January 2023

This spot has become rather challenging to photograph in recent months. It is adjacent to the Shah Jalal Jame Mosque, and cars park in every conceivable space at prayer times, including in this tight underpass. If you get the timing wrong (which I seem to with alarming regularity) then it is almost impossible to photograph the street/graffiti art without cars, but such are the risks with pieces being overpainted, that it is better to get whatever pictures you can, whenever you can.

This is yet another wonderful piece from Claro_que_sssnoh, who for a little while I thought might have departed these shores due to a long gap in any new work from him. Set on yellow, his HONS letters in his unique style are beautifully filled and finished. Although this style isn’t necessarily to everyone’s liking, there is no denying that it is technically well worked. Looking forward to more from Claro_que_sssnoh in 2023

4867. New Stadium Road (45)

Acesartworld, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022

This is an interesting dystopian character piece, painted during a paint jam a few weeks back, that definitely brightened up this rather dismal little corner of St Agnes. The character is by Acesartworld, who is an artist bubbling away just beneath the surface and occasionally popping up to create something quite unusual before disappearing again into the ether.

As a whole, the piece stands up well to scrutiny, although it has a slightly naive feel to it. At a guess, I would say that Acesartworld is self-taught, and producing some fine work, but some of the proportions and perspectives are slightly off. I feel like I am being over-critical, because as a piece it stands out. I think what I am saying is I would like to see a lot more from Acesartworld and observe any developments and improvements.

4819. New Stadium Road (44)

Bogat, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022

In my mind’s eye, I had published loads of pieces by Bogat. It turns out that this is only the fifth, so there must be a fair few lurking in my archive. I wonder if a way to flush out some of these ‘lost’ pieces is to have an amnesty, whereby I just publish a bunch of pieces by multiple artists, in one post, from a particular month, as a kind of ‘lost souls’ gallery, and write less about each individual piece. Something to think about.

This particular piece is an absolute cracker from Bogat, and very probably his best so far (of those that I have seen). It was painted a part of a paint jam in this rather grubby underpass, but I think all the artists pulled out the stops with their work – perhaps there was a bit of a competitive element to it all. I could also interpret this piece as a bit of a homage to Laic27, because many of the elements of his work are replicated here.

4815. New Stadium Road (43)

Enn Kay is an artist who appeared on the scene about a year ago and has been very busy ever since. His characters can be found all over Bristol, and his artwork improves with each one.

Enn Kay, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022

Enn Kay’s latest favourite character appears to be this dragon/crocodile figure, which seems to have superseded his octopus character. It is always good to see artists move on and develop ideas, especially character artists who can at times be seduced or locked into producing a single character and adapting it with decoration or colour or details. A nice piece painted during a paint jam in the grubby underpass.

4811. New Stadium Road (42)

Lazo, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022

This piece, by Lazo, is one of the most arresting portraits I have seen in quite a while. It was painted during a Paint jam between some artists I know and some I have never heard of, including Lazo.

There is some good shading work in tones of blue, green and yellow which provide plenty of depth to the face. Although this is not the best portrait piece I have seen, and there are some things that don’t quite work for me, I think it is very good and there is something about it that compels me to look at it. Perhaps it is the expressionless face, or the hanging hair, or the colours. Whatever it is, it fascinates me. I hope to see more from Lazo.

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