Tag: Pollution

6239. St Werburghs tunnel (434)

Dusce, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2024
Dusce, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2024

I happened upon Dusce while he was painting this piece, and immediately deduced that he was not an artist I have seen before. As I always do, I gently struck up a conversation, and gathered that he was visiting from London and this was the first piece he had painted in Bristol. He was very young and despite having obvious talent appeared to be on the quiet side, not giving away very much – perhaps he thought I was going to shop him for painting an illegal wall (they are all illegal in Bristol).

Dusce, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2024
Dusce, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2024

The illustrative piece with his writing front and centre tells a story of pollution, framed in a rather 1970s way – this kind of imagery was much more common when I was growing up than it is now. There is a little smattering of The Simpsons about the theme too. The writing is very nice if a little understated. I expect we’ll be seeing more of Dusce as he progresses.

5907. Easton Road

 

Caryn Koh, Easton Road, Bristol, March 2024
Caryn Koh, Easton Road, Bristol, March 2024

Another diversion away from my usual routes took me to Easton Road where I came across this magnificent mural from Caryn Koh, possibly the last thing I might have expected to see in this part of town. What is disappointing is that my son’s work is very close to this mural, and he never thought to let me know it was there.

Caryn Koh, Easton Road, Bristol, March 2024
Caryn Koh, Easton Road, Bristol, March 2024

This is a powerful portrait of a woman superimposed or floating over a pond with beautiful water lilies in it, but look a little closer and you can see that the pond is polluted with plastic bags and bottles and straws, a commentary and observation in the state of our environment. One day it would be nice to think that people, those in power and citizens alike, would learn to value nature and habitats because we live here and now. Who wants to live on a planet with diminishing beauty and wildlife?… let’s watch the hands go up. Nobody. So we must do what we can do to live in a better world, and that doesn’t have to equate to one where financial wealth is the only goal.

Thank you Caryn Koh for using your art to socialise the issue.

5260. Upfest 2022 (70)

Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

One of the admirable things that Upfest manages to do is combine the national and international interest from artists around the globe with local artists who paint the streets of Bristol week in and week out. The artists are treated equally (although some get allocated ‘premium’ walls), and there is a fabulous sense of community.

Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This piece by local artist Maybe (Maybepaints), who only started painting on the streets about 3 or 4 years ago, doesn’t look out of place shoulder to shoulder with established international artists. The piece is, as much contemporary street art tends to be, a commentary on the state of our environment, with supermarket plastic bags drifting in the ocean.

Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Maybe is a lovely man – much taller than I had expected – who has developed his own techniques, combining freestyle painting with stencils, to create these remarkable ‘other worldly’ places and scenes. You can see his progress over the last few years in this updated gallery of his work.

4144. M32 roundabout J3 (370)

This piece makes me laugh a little, because it involved another encounter with two great graffiti writers, Turoe and Hemper, or as I like to think of them, Mr Grumpy and Mr Happy. I got the cold-shoulder treatment from Turoe, which I am getting used to, but Hemper was happy to engage in a little conversation as they worked on this fabulous collaborative piece.

Turoe and Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021
Turoe and Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021

The colour scheme was shared by both artists, but each worked at their own pieces with their own styles, spelling out TUROE and HEMP respectively. The WIP shot was taken on a bright winter’s day with long shadows cast across the wall. When I went back to photograph the finished collaboration, I did so in overcast conditions, which got rid of those pesky shadows.

Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021
Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021

To the left is Turoe’s piece, which sets the theme of plastic litter in an aquatic setting. Look carefully and around the letters are loads of plastic items and PPE equipment, a sad observation of the polluted world we live in, but also a motivator to take action.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2021

Hemper continues the theme of litter, and the pieces are all the more powerful for sticking to a single colour. The litter becomes more ethereal as it swirls around the block letters spelling HEMS. This is a fabulous collaboration from these two top writers.

Conventional wisdom

 

In the seventies

the country was much greener;

rose-tinted glasses.

 

by Scooj

 

  • A convenient narrative adopted by pro-Brexit campaigners urging a return to the ‘good old days’ before we were told what to do by Europe. The facts rather contradict this romantic notion, and certainly my recollection of growing up in London in the 1970s is not a pleasant one – choking car fumes, filth and litter everywhere and heavily polluted rivers, our countryside didn’t fare much better. What did European regulations ever do for us…? (Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive, the Birds Directive, Bathing Waters Directive, Air Quality Framework Directive and others).

 

1076. The Bearpit (97)

One of the classiest pieces in The Bearpit for a little while appeared just over a week ago and took up the entire length of ont of the north side entrance ramp. This stunning piece is a collaboration between Sled One and Epok. As is often the case with work like this, the photographs really don’t do it justice and I would urge Bristolians to get down to The Bearpit to see it for themselves.

Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

There is a strong message here about the damage being done to our oceans by plastics – don’t get me going on this subject, because it vexes me because the torrent of pastic, large and microscopic, will kill off life in our oceans unless urgent action is taken. We sure know how to goof up our planet.

Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

The artwork in this piece is exquisite and incredibly detailed, just take a look at the pectoral fins of the fish above, to see how much work has gone into the colourse ripples and folds of the fins.

Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

Them whole thing is cleverly constructed, combining some abstract elements with life studies, but the whole effect is one of movement and swirling currents.

Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

It would be great to hear from the artists themselves what inspired them to do this piece. It is possible that it was a commission, but by whom I wonder. Next time I see Sled One, I’ll have to ask him.

Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Sled One and Epok, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

All in all a great piece and beautiful gift to the people of Bristol. Now, reduce that plastic waste!