246. Wilder Street (4)

There was one final gift for Bristolians that Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky (Clandestinos) left behind on their recent trip to Bristol…this brilliantly colourful masked face. This was another surprise for me in Wilder Street, an area which is now firmly on my routine street art patrols.

Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016

There is something of acarnival feel to this piece, and it has an unmistakably South American touch.

Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016

I still feel privileged that Clandestinos came to Bristol and left these remarkable pieces, however the story is not all good I’m afraid. The piece I wrote about by Shalak Attack in Stokes Croft has been tagged with a rather poor ‘throw up’.

Shalak Attack, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016
Shalak Attack, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016

The great piece next to it by SPZero76 and Mr Wigz has similarly been defaced. For less than a week, all five arches of the Carriageworks had clean untagged pieces in them…a first since I have been writing these posts. No longer. It is the nature of the beast I’m afraid, but disappointing nonetheless.

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SPZero76 and Mr Wigz, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016

226. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (10)

Every now and then, life throws wonderful surprises at you. On such days it is hard to contain one’s joy and enthusiasm. I am having one of those ‘red letter days’ that my grandmother used to talk about.

Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016

My walk to work on a Monday via Stokes Croft always gives me a bit of a thrill, because the graffiti artists tend to spray over the weekend, especially when the weather is nice, and many walls in the area get a facelift. This morning I was greeted with a double surprise on the archways of the Carriageworks. Two spanking new, clean pieces by internationally famous artists.

Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Shalak Attack, Clandestinos Collective, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016

This husband and wife team come under the combined name of the ‘Clandestinos Collective’ and are ‘Shalak Attack’ and ‘Bruno Smoky’. This stunning colourful portrait is by Shalak Attack and is one of the most beautiful pieces I have seen in Stokes Croft.

Shalak Attack is a Canadian-Chilean artist who has been spraying urban murals across the world for over a decade. She and her husband are currently in the UK (London) with an exhibition ‘In the Raw’ of their work. What I love about this piece is that of all the places in the UK that they might have gone for the weekend, they chose Bristol and Stokes Croft…getting in some recreational spraying. How cool is that? I will post the second half of this happy event very soon.