.
By the French windows
drenched in golden summer sun
I snooze with a book
.
by Scooj
- On recalling one of my favourite rooms in my grandparent’s house.
Tag: Peace
6092. Upfest 2024 (19)
Karl Read is something of a regular at Upfest, which is a great thing, and with each passing festival his work gets better and better. Painted over a stunning piece by Irony (one of my favourite of all time) cannot have been easy, but what Karl Read has replaced it with is worthy of this spot.
Karl Read uses large stencils for his work, and certainly in the past I have seen him struggle in windy conditions, but he has absolutely nailed his technique in this piece. The contrast between the black and white figures and the colourful peace sign made out of ‘Lego’ building blocks is a clever mechanism to bring focus to different parts of the work. The message is a poignant one in a troubled landscape of conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. This is a stunning stencil from a great artist.
5976. Chatterton Square (8)
I don’t get to visit this spot all that often, but in fairness neither do many artists, so what gets painted here tends to last a reasonably long time, and although I photographed this beauty by Acer One back in January this year, I think it had been painted some time before that.
The piece is obviously a protest statement about the war in Gaza and a powerful reminder of just how long innocent Palestinians have been suffering for since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. When I think about what is happening over there, my head bursts, and like so many people I simply want the suffering to stop.
The letters spell out BRISTOL 4 PEACE, speaking loudly and clearly to the people of Bristol. The letters are beautifully designed and cleverly concealed, and the incorporation of the colours of the Palestinian flag speaks for itself, really. A fine piece of commentary art from Acer One.
5858. Peel Street Green (28)
This piece from Haka is simply perfect in every way.
Our country is in a mess, largely thanks to the appalling Government that have been in power for the last 14 years, and their lurch to the right. Their latest culture war that they are waging on the good people of the UK, is that anyone protesting for peace in Gaza and an immediate ceasefire is branded an Islamist, which when you look at it, is absurd. Calls for an end to the war, and indeed countless other wars, are treated as a threat or anti-government, rather than being a cry to stop the needless killing and suffering. What else can citizens do to express their concerns other than protest. I would think that the vast majority of British people are against the war in Gaza, after all what kind of person would want the killing to continue? Only those who stand to gain financially or politically.
In this piece Haka peacefully makes his own statement ‘Free Palestine’, accompanied by a small peace flag. Does this make him a fundamentalist or an Islamist? I don’t think so. Nor does it make any of the other street artists who have painted commentary pieces about the war in Gaza some kind of threat to our British values. On the contrary, British values are based on compassion, fairness, decency, honesty and truth. It is politicians and political leaders who bend these values to suit their own narratives, and in this respect the right wingers have excelled themselves in recent years. Decent people have had enough. We need a change of government, but alongside that we need to return to a united society, because we have some far greater challenges ahead of us which we must face together. There is no room for selfishness any more, that way leads to our mutually assured doom.
Sermon over.
This piece is beautifully recreated in the style of Dr Seuss and perfectly captures the moment. The innocence of the camel adding to the pathos of the message. Haka has created something both beautiful and powerful and I salute him. This is not a ‘hate’ piece, it is a cry for peace piece.
5600. Leonard Lane (40)
A final quick delve into the archives, before I wish you a happy/scary Halloween. Every couple of weeks or so, I like to take a quick look back in my archives to see if there are any gems that I may have, for whatever reason, failed to post. Going back to last October, I found this delightful piece, as always, from Billy in Leonard Lane.
Billy’s artwork in a naïve style is always a shot in the arm, and a reminder that there is a lot of good in the world. This message in this colourful mural is clear – PEACE. Painted at a time when the war in Ukraine was dominating the headlines, it is now the appalling conflict in Gaza that is front of mind, and the peace message resonates even more strongly. Protest is pretty much all we can do, and murals like this one help to get our voices heard. Great work from Billy.
Dawn
.
A sleeping city
no traffic, happy birds chirp
even the jays pause
.
by Scooj
4865. Horfield skate park (12)
Christmas has come a little early this year in the form of this great stencil piece by John D’oh at Horfield skate park. It is a strong reminder that as we head into an unusual Christmas period with the backdrop of our very own cost of living crisis, we need to be mindful that there are others facing constant troubles far worse than our own. This stencil reminds me of an answer I give to my children when they ask me what I want for Christmas and I give them the same reply every time (I am a dad after all); “all I want for Christmas is world peace”. The answer is deliberately both humorous and serious, a blend John D’oh achieves here.
This piece also reminds me of a Costah piece that I posted a few days ago from my trip last June to Porto, which represents a street artist acting as a chronicler of these troubled times, something that John D’oh excels at. Let us all wish for peace this Christmas.
4833. Dean Lane skate park (540)
There are some artists who slip under the radar, often because their work is unsigned, or they just don’t paint often enough to get noticed properly. Acesartworld falls a little bit into this category, and although I have two or three of his pieces in my archive, I have never posted any of his work… until now.
Messages of peace are relatively common in street art work, and completely opposite to the kind of reputation some would have you believe about graffiti/street artists. This is a rather unusual piece, unlike much I have seen before, and not exactly typical of Acesartworld’s normal usual work. I must confess though to being a little confused about this piece, because the character is holding a gun, which doesn’t really reflect the message. No matter, it is a fresh piece from an artist I hope we will be seeing more of.
4756. Upfest 2022 (53)
There are some paintings at Upfest that you fall in love with at first sight and this magnificent mural by Sphiza is exactly that. From the moment I first saw it, I knew it was something rather special.
In this piece, which makes extraordinary use of colours to create shadings and texture (a bit like a stencil might), Sphiza conveys an important ‘peace’ message via a portrait of a youngster drawing a peace symbol on a sheet of paper. I don’t know very much about Sphiza, and haven’t seen any of her work before, but am especially interested because she is from Porto in Portugal, and regulars will know how much I love the city.
4302. The Carriageworks (43)
I am clinging to every minute that the Carriageworks continues to be a street art spot. This iconic site on the Cheltenham Road has been redeveloped, but the arches of the original Carriageworks have been retained. Before the site was developed, the arches became a fabulous canvass for artists in Bristol and beyond. Two or three years under scaffolding, it seemed like we’d never see the wall again, but recently the scaffolding was removed and the wall returned to artists. I don’t know how long it will be before anti-graffiti paint and CCTV appear, but let’s make hay while the sun shines.
3Dom is known for his amazing ‘other world’ type pieces where his imaginative characters exist in unusual or surreal settings. This magnificent piece is clearly a reference to the terrible war in Ukraine, but is rather more subtle in its messaging than some anti-war pieces.
The creativity of 3Dom and his astonishing touch has produced one of the finest pieces in Bristol this year, in one of the finest spots. Long live 3Dom and long live peace.
Natural adventures 