Tag: Rtiiika

7151. Greenbank (170)

Rtiiika, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025
Rtiiika, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025

This is another clear and unambiguous message painted at the Bristol Mural Collective’s Palestine protest paint jam held last month on the long hoarding at Greenbank. The piece is by Rtiiika, which, although unsigned, is so characteristic of her style.

Rtiiika, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025
Rtiiika, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025

‘Gaza is starving’ – ‘Let aid in now’, two messages that have been persistently ignored by the Israeli Government. Every day brings new stories of the war crimes being committed by the Israeli Government, and still the international community does nothing to stop this. Trump is impotent and has been played by Netanyahu. Is it only me that sees the parallels between the Israeli state’s behaviour now and their justifications, and the behaviours and justifications of the Nazis during WWII? Surely the irony isn’t lost? One might have expected more compassion from a people who experienced some of the worst persecution in modern history. BTW, this does not make me an antisemite, just in case anyone was wondering, but it makes me very much opposed to the fascist elements of the Israeli Government.

Sorry, but I had to go there. Normal service will resume immediately.

6373. Muriel Alleyway (14)

Rtiiika and Mr Penfold, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Rtiiika and Mr Penfold, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024

The Muriel Alleyway mini street art festival organised by Rtiiika at the end of July was a perfect opportunity to see the work of artists that tend only to make occasional appearances on Bristol’s streets. This piece is a lovely collaboration from Rtiiika and Mr Penfold, right at the bottom of the alleyway.

Rtiiika and Mr Penfold, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Rtiiika and Mr Penfold, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024

The piece is a true collaboration, a fusion of the styles of the two artists to create a whole which presents their work as one. The black bits are most likely by Rtiiika and the pink and blue bars and white spots by Mr Penfold, but actually it matters not, because the piece is by both of them. A fine abstract mural, showing off the huge spectrum of styles we see in the city.

4950. Leonard Lane (39)

Rtiiika, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Rtiiika, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

Although Rtiiika has moved away from Bristol for the time being, her work remains very much in our memories. It was a pleasure reacquainting myself with these pictures of a piece that she painted in Leonard Lane back in May 2022. Many pieces that were painted in May were bumped because of Upfest, which always impacts on the number of posts I can write. This moment of reflection at the start of 2023 has enabled me to share some great pieces that got left behind.

Rtiiika, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Rtiiika, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2022

Rtiiika’s work is pretty much unique in Bristol, although this piece leans heavily on the cubists and artists like Picasso. It is an absolute beauty of a musician playing a cello or double-bass. The musician is female, as denoted by the ‘W’ representing breasts, a motif that Rtiiika has used in her work before. This is a really classy piece and I do hope that she decides to return to Bristol.

4484. Upfest 2022 (10)

Shortly after painting this vibrant piece for Upfest, Rtiiika had a leaving paint jam on Cattle Market Road with her Bristol Womxn Mural Collective friends. I am not too sure where she is leaving to or how long for, but I am certain she will be back.

Rtiiika, Upfest22, Bristol, May 2022
Rtiiika, Upfest22, Bristol, May 2022

This is a beautifully designed piece with Rtiiika’s classic stylised figures all jumbled up together. A mash up of shoes, hats, legs, boobs and willies, some in outline and some in solid fill make this a dynamic and fun piece. Even though Rtiiika has left Bristol, I have several more of her pieces in my archive which I hope to find time to post. One of my favourite Rtiiika pieces.

3755. Cumberland Basin

I have known about this lovely piece by Rtiiika for a while, but until a recent extended walk didn’t quite know where it was. Finding it was a rather pleasant surprise and a bit of a bonus. It is great to see that Rtiiika seems to be doing more and more street art work and the larger format really lends itself to her designs.

Rtiiika, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021
Rtiiika, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021

In this piece, on the side of a storage unit, there are two figures created in her very stylistic design. Her figures are painted with long lines and tend to be very leggy, often with the top halves missing or hinted at. On a black background, the pink, white and green colours stand out clearly. Minimalist? Abstract? I’m not sure what the right words are, but this piece is is. I particularly like the plants in green that add another dimension and without which the piece probably wouldn’t work.

3718. Muriel Alleyway (3)

The message from Rtiiika here is very clear ‘stop telling women to smile’. I must confess to being a little bit puzzled by the sentence. I like to think that I am reasonably well acquainted with issues of gender inequality, and sensitive to the political and societal pressures, but I don’t really understand this message. It might be something that I am unaware of, and if so need to understand better.

Rtiiika, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021
Rtiiika, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, May 2021

The artwork is wonderful and adopts the characteristic long thin lines that Rtiiika uses in her work, this time in the form of her letters. The piece is capped off with a smiley in the centre in the colour of the original we are all so familiar with. There is a juxtaposition between this smiley and the message of the piece. I like the concept of messaging like this and wonder if she will do more of it.

3696. Lower Approach Road (10)

This piece from Rtiiika has been around for a while now, but I have only just managed to get round to posting it. I very much like Rtiiika’s work and am setting off this morning to find another recent one in Brislington.

Rtiiika, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, April 2021
Rtiiika, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, April 2021

Rtiiika’s highly designed style is very distinctive and features line drawn characters that are fairly abstract in form. These characters are over a checkered wall in various contrasting colours. The inner squares carry the word ‘TOoOT!’ Which is probably a reference to the tooting of trains from Temple Meads station. Something a little different for us to enjoy.

3530. St Werburghs tunnel (227)

Obviously I am thoroughly enjoying Zoe Power’s enhanced presence on the streets at the moment, with her recent collaboration with Mr Penfold, her work in progress under the railway bridge on Stapleton Road and of course, this lovely collaboration with Rtiiika in the tunnel.

Zoe Power and Rtiiika, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2021
Zoe Power and Rtiiika, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2021

I had heard that she was keen to do more street work but was nonetheless surprised to stumble on this collaboration so soon. I have seen two or three Rtiiika pieces around Bristol, but this definitely raises her profile. Their styles are complementary and the bright colours work well. Zoe’s characters continue to remind me of Matisse and Rtiiika’s character also has a touch of modernism about it. I love this and want to see a whole lot more from these two.