Tucked away in the garden of St Francis Church on North Street were a collection of artists who had prepared their works on boards 1.2m x 1.2m. Lurking here in one of the festival ‘backwaters’ were some wonderful treasures.
Swilfa, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This magnificent piece by Swilfa, a London artist, captures Bob Marley really beautifully. What is different about his pieces is that they are created using a combination of acrylic paints and old pieces of vinyl records. If you look carefully you will see that the hair is styled from some 40 vinyl records (according to Swilfa’s Facebook page).
Towards the end of North Street (the West end) there are a lovely pair of garage doors that constitute a desirable spot for local street artists. At Upfest 2016 the honour was given to Rocket01 to work his magic.
Rocket01, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
When I got to his pitch, he was rather concerned about the inconsiderate car drivers who were impatiently tooting street enthusiasts as they photographed his work. An irritation shared by many who were trying to admire his work on this tight corner. I chatted with him for a short while and told him I would write about his work in my blog…so here it is.
Rocket01, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Rocket01, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This is a striking piece by Rocket01 who originally comers from Sheffield and tours the country as a street artist. This was the first time I have seen his work, and I was really impressed. I like this kind of thing.
Rocket01, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
In his bio from the Upfest programme, he talks of his work with the following quote:
“I have visions of a post-apocalyptic world where mankind has finally embraced nature and immersed himself within it. He swims with the fishes, he flies with the birds, chlorophyll runs through his veins and his eyes photosyntesize.”
I rather like this, but that is no surprise coming from a ‘nature boy’.
Rocket01, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
There is detail in this work that hints at sustainable energy, peace, nature…visions of hope. Another great Upfest piece.
Rocket01, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This is an extraordinary and eye catching piece by yet another female artist at Upfest this year. I love this piece very much. The more you look at it, the more it can unsettle. The out-of-proportion eye, and absence of the other eye ‘obscured’ by hair looks a little strange. What emotions are being expressed? Other works by the artist share similar features.
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I saw this piece in various stages of its development, and the final result is really stunning. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to speak with the artist Caro Pepe, from Argentina…she had enough trouble on the pavement with people squeezed between her and the parked car. It must have been very difficult to concentrate.
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The previous incumbent at this address, number 74 North Street, was the wonderful N4T4 piece from last year’s festival. Two portraits, two very different styles, both excellent.
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I will definitely be looking out for more of Pepe’s work, although I expect to see it on the world stage rather than the local Bristol one. Thank you Upfest! There is a fine interview with Caro Pepe on the Street Art Bio website which is well worth a read.
What a busy couple of days it has been – a lot of walking and looking at hundreds of new pieces in South Bristol. Many of the works created are temporary and will be removed after the festival, some have been allocated prime sites and will remain for at least a year, others have been surreptitiously slapped up in interesting places and will have variable lifespans.
Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
I will start my posts of Upfest with some wonderful pasteups by Phoebe New York (aka artist Libby Schoettle). I was especially pleased to see her work here in Bristol as I have only recently become aware of her and how brilliantly refreshing she is. A simple idea really well executed.
Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
I particularly like the edge of her work, both in the content and statements, but also in the locations she chooses. I am a fan, and I expect there are more than just these two examples from Upfest in Bristol. I will be hunting for more.
Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Upfest is a truly spectacular festival and I feel honoured as an adopted Bristolian that people have come from all over the world to participate over the last two days. There is still one more day to go, but it is a working day and I suspect things will be a lot quieter. I have no idea how I am going to post all the amazinf things I have seen this weekend – I’ll just have to see how it goes.
This is an absolute gem recently stenciled on a rather obliging white wall by one of Bristol’s finest street artists, Stewy. What make this piece extra special for me is that it is a picture of one of my favourite musicians, Robert Wyatt, whose version of ‘ship building’ is in my top ten personal hit list.
Stewy (Robert Wyatt), North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Stewy, when he is not stenciling animals, is creating images of well known people. Other works I have posted on include Cary Grant and DJ Derek. I love his work and was really excited to come across this one. I knew he had done it, but just didn’t know where. I expect It’ll get loads of attention at Upfest 2016.
Stewy (Robert Wyatt), North Street, Bristol, July 2016
The last time I posted about this spot, it was decorated with a collaboration between E.Lee and Copyright. Shortly after I blogged about the piece, it had been replaced by this Soker piece.
Soker, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
I rather like this simple burner by Soker. It is colourful, beautifully crafted and in some way humorous…I can’t quite put my finger on why though. Maybe it is the light fixture in the middle. I don’t know. I know that I like it though. I expect it has been over-painted by now though.
This is the first of many posts I will be making from an artist known as RIP. This is a ‘cheeky little one’ that RIP seems to be very fond of. He is a stencil artist based in Stoke-on-Trent, but obviously a frequent visitor to Bristol, and in particular North Street. The stencils are often, but not always, political and are sprayed in the ‘tolerated’ illegal spots.
RIP, North Street, Bristol, January 2016
RIP is an active member of SSOSVA (the Secret Society of Super Villain Artists) (or not so secret now…) an international collective of artists founded in 1921 by Silent Bill – or so it says on their website. Other members I have featured include Dice 67 and John D’oh.
I don’t know why I haven’t posted RIP’s work before because there is a lot of it around. Don’t be surprised to see a rash of posts in the coming weeks.
A little while ago, Jody created this beautiful detailed piece, which was very quickly adopted as the Upfest Twitter icon, only recently replaced by Cheo’s design. Jody’s work has an incredible realism and then tosses the realism into a surreal setting.
Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016
At last year’s Upfest he produced an incredible work of fingers dripping with oil, and here we have this delicate image of two hands making a heart shape, and encompassing a moth. Full of symbolism? Maybe.
Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016
This work is very memorable and located at the heart of North Street, where its predecessor was this Christmas piece by Cheo. I guess the wall will be repainted at this year’s festival, but as I discovered recently with the Inkie piece (Best thing since sliced bread), not all the street art in the area will be over-painted.
John D’oh is a political stencil artist, and he has been oh so very busy recently. This recent piece, in a little alcove on North Street, really chimes with me. It is a promotional piece for the upcoming Upfest event and in fact there are two of the stencils side by side in this location. Technically, this piece is excellent.
John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
The best bit about this piece is that it features a guy called Jeff, who sells ‘The Big Issue’, a magazine I have referred to previously in my posts. He is my local seller, and I like to buy my copies from him. He can usually be found in Stokes Croft, in North Bristol, but this stencil is in North Street (rather confusingly) in South Bristol.
John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
There was a nice feature in the Bristol Post (I cannot find a link) about the stencil and how pleased Jeff was to be the subject of it. I’ll have to talk to Jeff about it next time I see him. Great work, with a great subject promoting a great event.
I have talked before about how street art appears and disappears…it is the ephemeral nature of it that drives me to capture and record it so that it should not be entirely lost forever. There is another aspect to the appearance and disappearance of street art that manifests itself in the shape of shutter art.
One can stroll up and down a street countless times and never see half of the art on offer, unless you do it on a Sunday, late in the evening or when shops are closed for some other reason.
Copyright, North Street, Bristol, May 2016
This beautiful Copyright piece is a case in point. I cannot think how many times I have walked up and down North Street, but only once have I seen this piece. Of course I photographed it immediately. Street art in most of its forms, is not just about the art itself, but also about place and time, which I guess is part of the fascination.
Copyright, North Street, Bristol, May 2016
There are similarities between this piece and the collaboration recently featured between Copyright and E. Lee.
Natural adventures 