I love the irrepressible nature of Bristol street artists. There has been a bit of a war on this wall recently, with Bristol City Council buffing the wall with grey paint, only to be painted over moments later by artists and writers. For goodness’ sake, BCC, make this a legal wall and save your (our) money. Two of Bristol’s best character artists, Zake and Chill, have combined to decorate this wall, and have absolutely smashed it.
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023
I go away for a couple of days, and what happens? This audacious piece appears, to engage and entertain passers-by. Zake has been on fire recently, and is arguably the busiest artist in town. His portraits are becoming more expressive and adventurous with each outing. Watching his work develop is one of the great pleasures of what I do.
Chill, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2023
Chill has also now become firmly established in the Bristol scene, which doesn’t equate to him being establishment (just in case you were wondering). In this piece, Chill is continuing his experimentation with colour, instead of presenting us with the black and white we are more accustomed to seeing. I think the colours are working, although it takes a little bit of getting used to. What a wonderwall from these PWA artists.
Mr Klue has always enjoyed painting in the tunnel, but recently he has started to ‘own’ the place, with this beautiful offering being the third piece in a gallery of three. If he continues at this rate, he will have the whole wall to himself, which would be pretty impressive. Of course that will never happen, because of the turnover in the tunnel, but to have three, and another one at the other end is going some.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
In this piece, with its stunning colours, it is possible to read the letters KLUE, especially if you are looking out for them. As is often the case with Mr Klue’s work, he has included his Mad Hatter character (invisible head) to the right, rounding the piece off nicely. Can he extend this streak to a fourth panel, before it all gets overpainted? Watch this space.
This magnificent piece by Billy is almost exactly a year old, and although it didn’t last long, it is a poignant reminder that Ukraine is not the only country suffering at the hands of Russian aggression. As Billy says to the left of the piece: “‘My home’ Drawing by a boy from Syria in a workshop I once did – Billy”
Billy, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2022
Billy’s naive style lends itself very well to replicating the work of children. This composition has a clear message that is delivered with utter simplicity. The horror of war on the left, and the green and pleasant place we call home on the right. When thee two forces meet, there tends to be only one winner. This piece could equally well apply to any war zone, but it somehow feels appropriate to post it on the day after the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Thank you, Billy.
Klashwhensober, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
I am trying to keep up with Klashwhensober’s work, but failing miserably. At some point I am going to have to do a round up of pieces that are lurking in the archives, but for the time being I bring you this wonderful recent piece in the tunnel
Klashwhensober, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
The bright yellow background immediately draws you in, and then, once hooked, your eyes are drawn across the fine SOBER lettering so beautifully filled with turquoise and purple. The 3D drop shadow in red has a central vanishing point, giving the writing a slightly bowed appearance. Great letters, great fills, great patterns – this is an explosion of colour and creativity, a masterclass of its type from Klashwhensober.
Newly buffed wall, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
In the dying embers of the Bristol Mayor’s tenure, it would appear that Marvin Rees is finally waging war on graffiti in the city. He has always shown a desire to keep the streets of the city clean and tidy, and recognised that graffiti and tagging is a challenging problem. In recent weeks, it has become noticeable that some walls in popular street art/graffiti spots have been buffed in a rather drab ‘Bristol grey’.
Teao One, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Now here’s the thing. I can understand clamping down on tagging, especially on private property or in certain locations, but buffing walls in places which have a long history of street/graffiti art (for example St Werburghs tunnel), is a mindless waste of time and money, it could also have the unintended consequence of artists moving on to new walls and locations. A newly buffed wall is an invitation, a blank canvass upon which to work.
I believe that it would be infinitely preferable to set up legal walls/spots where there is a legacy of graffiti, with an element of curation or self-determination. Then, working with the street/graffiti art community, create some graffiti-free areas of the city and concentrate on policing those. Of course, commissions and permitted walls would still be a thing, but throw ups, bombing and tagging (which are currently illegal anyway) could be where the Bristol City Council (BCC) concentrated its efforts. I realise that this is a tricky dilemma, and is about managing subversion, but I can’t help thinking that every time BCC tackle this, they go at it like a bull in a china shop, without any clear strategy, and end up with a lose-lose situation in an effort to appease ‘small c conservatives’ whose hatred of any form of street art is visceral.
Teao One, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
It didn’t take Teao One very long to paint on this newly buffed wall, which had gone over his ‘Bad meaning Good’ piece (see this morning’s post). The words say it all. The point is that the whole of St Werburghs tunnel has been a graffiti spot for years, but BCC chose to buff two small sections at the entrance (spending our taxes), for what purpose? What is their intention? What engagement has there been with the local community? It is nuts.
The saga continues – the last time I went to the tunnel, the two short sections of wall had been buffed again. This could get nasty.
Other cities in Europe, such as Barcelona, Lisbon, Paris, Brussels etc, etc, all have a culture and history of street/graffiti art, but it hasn’t stopped the visitors from flocking to these places, and in many cases (I specifically went to Barcelona to see its street art) the street art scene drives visitors and investment.
The only reason Bristol hosts Upfest, Europe’s biggest street art festival, is because the city has a long and rich street/graffiti art culture. The Festival is something to be proud of and drives inward investment. How do you reconcile that with attempting to drive the culture away?
Bad meaning good. Teao One thought that this was pretty funny, and repeated it to me several times on a bright and crisp morning, while he was admiring his work. He has been one of the busier artists in Bristol in recent weeks, and has been favouring this area around the tunnel.
Teao One, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
The chrome lettering is clearly the work of a very experienced writer, and the borders and shadows 100% on point. I’m glad I took these pictures when I did, even though there was a lot of glare, because it didn’t last too long, adding credibility to the golden rule of always taking pictures when you can. Strange things have been happening to these walls lately… more in my next post.
How nice it was to see Mr Klue again, when he was painting a new piece adjacent to this one last week in the tunnel. At first, I didn’t recognise him, as it has been a few years since we last met. During the course of our conversation, I managed to establish that he always writes KLUE in his pieces, and never deviates, which is great to know, because there have been times when I thought he has written something else altogether.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
This, I think, is one of my favourite Mr Klue pieces, Mainly on account of the colour selection. I love the reds, yellows and oranges, which combined with the wispy, smokey style of Mr Klue’s work give the impression of fire. Now that I know it definitely says KLUE, I can see it so much more clearly – funny how the mind can fill the gaps when you have a little bit of information/confirmation. A wonderful piece from a lovely man.
I met Kid Krishna for the very first time when he just completed buffing this wall and had begun this large and complex piece. As luck would have it, I met him again in exactly the same spot a couple of days later, it is funny how things like that happen.
Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
This is a magnificent beast, monumentally intricate and bewildering. His letters are so well disguised, that they simply become part of the overall experience – a little bit like Mr Klue’s work. This piece is a real workout for the eyes, in that search to make sense of it. The technique Kid Krishna uses to paint these writing pieces is to lay down the main structure of the letters with a roller, and then to add the borders and details, and it works very effectively. Kid Krishna told me that he is thinking of shifting to a new idea, so I’ll be scouring the streets to see what he does.
Lee Roy is a writer whose work I really rather enjoy. His writing is a little unconventional and always interesting to look at. This recent piece in the tunnel is an immediate attention-grabber on account of its use of orange on a turquoise background.
Lee Roy, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
The letters are uniform in size, and the letter design is exceptional. The fills and fill patterns are quite subtle, but beautifully worked. This is one of the best Lee Roy pieces that I have seen – a true beauty.
Here we have yet another fine piece from Mudra, in what seems to be a rapid-fire series of work from him. It is satisfying, as an onlooker, to watch as he develops and improves his style and to observe his creativity and imagination. To see his development, I have linked to his gallery, which is well worth a quick look.
Mudra, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
This piece, at the end of the tunnel, follows his template style of letters and character, mashed up into a single coherent work. The letters are connected through a common colour palette, but their shape, design and size are somewhat varied. The letters are quite concealed, although easy to find if you know what you are looking for. The little ‘d’ is probably the easiest. The character in the middle of the piece, on this occasion, is not a substitute letter, but instead just a bit of fun breaking up the piece. You’ve got to love the little floating had. There is a reference to recreational drugs and a bit of trippyness about the piece – but I am way too conventional to know about such things. More to come soon, I have no doubt.
Natural adventures 