6039. Cumberland Basin

j9449j, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
j9449j, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

The Bristol street art and graffiti scene is so broad that it welcomes all styles and all levels of talent. We get to see it all here. Some towns and cities in the UK embrace street art through holding festivals, but have no underlying culture 365 days of the year. While there is nothing wrong with that at all, what remains is a sanitised selection of high-end art, keeping the place pretty. Upfest provides us with a microclimate of high-end art in the Bedminster area, but the rest of the city is up for grabs, and I like it that way.

j9449j, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024
j9449j, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

A great example of Bristol’s artistic diversity comes in the form of artists like j9449j, whose abstract fills are really quite unique. There is a wonderful organic feel to his work, with plant-like forms cropping up through the lettering. j9449j’s work feels quite ‘designed’, if you know what I mean, and although some of the borders could be a little cleaner, there is an element of anti-style that works well. This is a bright and colourful calming piece.

5977. Cumberland Basin

j9449j, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2024
j9449j, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2024

The artist formerly known as j9449j is obviously a person who enjoys anonymity, and has been incredibly hard to track down. I still know nothing about the artist, and just to add to the confusion, j9449j has changed their Instagram handle to @dr3amcore, this leaves me with the dilemma I have faced before which is do I stick with the first name I was familiar with or change to the new name. The convention on Natural Adventures is to stick with the first name unless the artist requests otherwise, so that is what I will do.

j9449j, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2024
j9449j, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2024

This piece was photographed back in January (I was doing a bit of archive-hopping), and features writing that I have struggled to read, but to me, it looks like “L I ? A T E R”, but I can’t make sense of that, so I must be wrong. Whatever the letters, the fill patterns are full of the wonderful plant shapes that typify work by j9449j. The colour palette is not my favourite, but in my view saved by the vibrant green/yellow flashes through the piece. I have many other pieces by the artist and hope to unearth them as the months and years go by.

5937. Greenbank (114)

j9449j, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2023
j9449j, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2023

This is a throwback piece to last June, which has remained dormant in my archives, because at the time of photographing the piece the artist was unknown to me. Since then, the artist’s identity has emerged and is known as j9449j, which is a bit of a mouthful. This is great news, because I have several more pieces in the archives to share and I really like their work.

j9449j, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2023
j9449j, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2023

The abstract piece hints at a rural landscape, certainly there are some organic forms in the piece. This artwork is so original, at least in the context of street art, that it is difficult to assess against any normal criteria or conventions. For example the small additional piece to the right works perfectly as a counterbalance to the larger piece on the left, There are some lovely shapes and patterns and a carefully thought out colour palette. Enjoyable and unusual stuff from j9449j.

3875. M32 roundabout J3 (340)

It is always so good to see a new piece from Taboo, and it feels like a little while since his last one. This magnificent piece of graffiti writing is on the M32 roundabout, a wall that is seeing an ever-increasing turnover as artists compete for limited space I. The city.

Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2021
Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2021

The letters, naturally, spell out Taboo, although it takes a little time to work it out if you aren’t used to reading his letters. Unusually for one of his pieces there is no accompanying character, although there is an animated paintbrush in the middle of the piece. His organic and unconventional style is what marks out his work as being rather special and I love it.

3752. Cumberland Basin

It is a funny thing, that I don’t fully understand, but consistently, whenever I post Ments pieces on Instagram they just never get as many likes as other artists’. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that these complex organic pieces don’t translate very well onto the small screen of a mobile device. In the flesh, these are always magnificent.

Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021

I love Ments’ work, it is always carefully considered and technically challenging and while it might not be to everyone’s taste it is consistently of the highest quality. In this one Ments presents us with his disguised writing in fairly angular lines, softened by the ‘marble’ decorations. A very nice piece indeed.

3689. Brunel Way (103)

I have kept it as no secret that I have been struggling to keep on top of the sheer amount so street art and graffiti that is being painted in Bristol at the moment. I find myself constantly looking back into my monthly archives to see if there are any gems I have missed. Once I have hung up my camera for the last time, I will still have plenty of material to post, albeit historical.

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2021
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2021

This is a gorgeous piece from Ments, painted in April, that shows off his talents perfectly, incorporating his newer techniques with his older organic style of writing. Believe it or not, these abstract forms actually spell out MENTS although it takes a bit of creative thinking to make out some of the letters. A very nice piece indeed that fully deserved its moment in the spotlight last month. Blame the backlog.

3486. Brunel Way bridge (89)

Although not a frequent painter, Ments is quite regular, so one’s year is nicely sprinkled with these fine organic pieces. This one was painted as part of a three-way collaboration, including Sled One and Smak from a couple of weeks ago.

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

Ments has adapted his style a fair bit over the past year and although still organic and irregular in structure he has moved to a more fluid and metallic look and feel. His pieces are a thing of abstract beauty, and still spell out MENTS. The white triangle reminds me a little of a Voyder piece in London from a few years back. All good.

3381. Cumberland Basin

I am writing this on Christmas Eve Eve (last night) and really ought to be asleep, so please excuse typos or nonsense. I have Paul H to thank for this post. Last week I had been down to the river to check out Brunel Way and to walk the dog. On the way back to the car I bumped into Paul and we chatted for a while under darkening skies. I jumped into the car to head over to Dean Lane and then the heavens opened. Just as I got back to the car, Paul called me and said I simply had to get over to the other side of the river by the Create Centre to see a whole bunch of new stuff. I was reluctant because of the rain, and I had to get back to work to chair a Zoom meeting. I had just enough time and braved the weather. It was so worth it too. This is the first piece from a fabulous paint jam from the day before.

Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020

Ments has always been a favourite of mine because of his organic, abstract writing style of which this is a perfect example. It would seem I got there just in time, because such was the force of the rain that some of the paint was running (can that happen?). Thanks Paul, thanks Ments, fabulous piece.

3373. Brunel Way bridge (80)

Underneath Brunel Way in the damp and tortured light conditions is this rather lovely tribute piece by Ments to a person called Sam, you can probably make out the letters.

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020

This is quite an unusual piece by Ments and I think is in part quite experimental. His work is usually organic in nature with fluidity being a central effect. In this piece however, Ments has introduced some quite solid forms and even what appears to be a rock foundation – a more geological approach perhaps. The bright colours speak of joy and happiness. This is a wonderful tribute piece beautifully thought out and painted.

Ments

A gallery of extraordinary ‘organic’ graffiti writing from Bristol artist Ments

All photographs by Scooj

Ments, Hen and Chicken, Greville Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Ments, Hen and Chicken, Greville Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022

Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022
Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022

Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022
Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022

Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022
Paul Monsters and Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, January 2022

Ments and Sled One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2021
Ments and Sled One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2021

Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021

Ments, Dean Street, Bristol, September 2021, Upfest 21
Ments, Dean Street, Bristol, September 2021, Upfest 21

Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2021
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2021

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020

Smak, Curtis Hylton, Ments and Sled One, Clift House Road, Bristol, October 2020
Smak, Curtis Hylton, Ments and Sled One, Clift House Road, Bristol, October 2020

Curtis Hylton, Ments and Sled One, Clift House Road, Bristol, October 2020
Curtis Hylton, Ments and Sled One, Clift House Road, Bristol, October 2020

Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, October 2020
Ments, Clift House Road, Bristol, October 2020

Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2020
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2020

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2020
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2020

Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020
Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020

Ments, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020
Ments, Star and Garter, Bristol, March 2020

Ments, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, January 2020
Ments, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, January 2020

Ments, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020
Ments, Armada Place, Bristol, January 2020

Ments, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
Ments, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020

Ments, Upper York Street, Bristol, October 2019
Ments, Upper York Street, Bristol, October 2019

Ments, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018
Ments, Wilder Street, Bristol, December 2018

Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018
Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2018

Ments, Thomas Street, Bristol, October 2018
Ments, Thomas Street, Bristol, October 2018

Ments, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018
Ments, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018

Ments, Upper York Street, Bristol, October 2016
Ments, Upper York Street, Bristol, October 2016

Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018
Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2018

Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017
Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017

Ments, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, June 2017
Ments, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, June 2017

Ments, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, June 2017
Ments, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, June 2017

Ments, Sled One, Epok, Peal, Meds, Wilder Street, Bristol, February 2017
Ments, Sled One, Epok, Peal, Meds, Wilder Street, Bristol, February 2017

Meds, Peal, Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2017
Meds, Peal, Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2017

Ments, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2017
Ments, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2017

Ments, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2016
Ments, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2016

Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016
Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016