5083. Greenbank (74)

Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2023
Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2023

More Merny mirth. The utterly unique style of this storytelling artist is always enjoyable, and forces the viewer to stop and think for a moment or two. Here the subject is busy, fixated on his phone. My interpretation is that he is telling himself he will go to sleep in one minute, knowing that his addiction to social media will not allow that to happen.

Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2023
Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2023

The naive style combined with the numbered tags are so much a part of Merny’s work, that there really is no need for a signature. Some may dismiss his work, but I consider it to be thoughtful, challenging and deliberate, and am cheered up every time I find a new piece.

893. Lower Approach Road (5)

Another fine piece at this relatively new location at Temple Meads station. This is a lovely work from Kid Crayon featuring a group of people and their obsessions with their mobile phones. Possibly representative of the crowds of people departing from and arriving at the station each and every day.

Kid Crayon, Lower Approach road, Bristol, June 2017
Kid Crayon, Lower Approach road, Bristol, June 2017

I am not sure if any of these characters are based on real people, but the fellow on the right eating his phone has an uncanny resemblance to Paul Monsters (Paul Roberts) who painted a collaboration with Copyright just around the corner.

Kid Crayon, Lower Approach road, Bristol, June 2017
Kid Crayon, Lower Approach road, Bristol, June 2017

Somehow no Kid Crayon piece feels complete without purple or blue-faced people, and here he offers lashings of them. The young girl actually looks quite sinister, reminiscent of the character from The Addams Family played by Christina Ricci.

Kid Crayon, Lower Approach road, Bristol, June 2017
Kid Crayon, Lower Approach road, Bristol, June 2017

Quite who the pretty lady with the squinty eye at the centre of the picture is I don’t know, but I love the detail of her necklace and freckled nose. All in all this is a superb piece from Kid Crayon…full of stories and beautifully executed.

Kid Crayon, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, June 2017
Kid Crayon, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, June 2017