Tag: Papua New Guinea

2348. North Street

Everything about this magnificent piece by Dale Grimshaw is awesome except for one thing… the wall. I don’t like this wall. It is the most difficult Upfest wall to photograph, and the only time I have seen it done properly is from a drone looking down. All other photographs are a complete fail.

Dale Grimshaw, North Street, Bristol, July 2019
Dale Grimshaw, North Street, Bristol, July 2019

Dale Grimshaw was invited to do this piece as part of Upfest’s Summer Editions project (in lieu of the festival taking a year out). It is another tribal piece in his campaign to fight for Papua New Guinea. His amazing portraits all have a theme, which is to present ‘the people’ with pride and dignity in where they come from, and he does this with such depth and emotion. I am very, very drawn to his work and am thrilled that he was invited to Bristol to paint here (shame about the wall).

Dale Grimshaw, North Street, Bristol, July 2019
Dale Grimshaw, North Street, Bristol, July 2019

It is possible to get reasonable pictures from the roof of the NatWest bank, but I have never been lucky enough or brave enough to climb the fire escape to do it.

Dale Grimshaw, North Street, Bristol, July 2019
Dale Grimshaw, North Street, Bristol, July 2019

Face paint is a big part of what Dale Grimshaw does with his portraits, which I always feel is a bit like doubling up… a painting of people with paint on their faces… does that make sense? Whether it does or not is immaterial, in my view Dale Grimshaw can do no wrong and I am privileged to have seen this. I only wish I could have seen him working on it and perhaps stopped for a chat.

2185. Hanbury Street, London (2)

I am often caught in two minds about the ‘high-end’ street art that is much more common in London than in Bristol, because it can appear to forget where its roots are sometimes. This is a fairly weak observation, because actually I pretty much love the entire street/graffiti art spectrum, but what I particularly love about Dale Grimshaw’s work is that for me it bridges the gap between the street and the posh stuff so very well.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, April 2019
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, April 2019

This amazing piece is typical of Dale Grimshaw’s work and was painted a day or two before I took this picture, so I tyhink I got really lucky. Here’s what he had to say abou it on Instagram:

Latest wall piece in London. Imagery from PNG but highlighting the occupation & atrocities in West Papua by Indonesia.

A man with a message and exceptional talent.

425. Hanbury Street, Shoreditch(1)

Dale Grimshaw must produce some of the most recognisable street art in the UK. This artist, originally from Lancashire, paints the most incredible faces adorned with face paints, and some additional wildstyle writing alongside the piece.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

The pieces are haunting and captivating, he is a master of the large mural. In the last few weeks I have photographed a few of his works, but this is the first to make it into the blog.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

This amazing work, painted on the side kitchen entrance to the Preem restaurant, depicts the face of a West Papua New Guinean. Grimshaw is currently supporting a campaign to free the West PNG people from the grips of Indonesian ‘occupation’. I didn’t know any of this stuff until I started to find out more on various websites, including this great post on Hooked website.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016

I am completely in awe of this amazing work, and I find myself saying ‘I don’t know how he does it’ far too often. Amazing piece.

Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Hanbury Street, London, September 2016