3342. St Werburghs tunnel (210)

Resembling one of the giant stone head statues of Easter Island is this rather nice and low-key piece by Zace. This is only the second piece I have posted by Zace, and it illustrates the diversity of artists in Bristol at the moment and the rate at which new ones are joining the already sizeable cohort.

Zace, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Zace, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

There is something about this piece that I really like, maybe its modesty or the simplicity. The expression is difficult to read – an enigmatic smile perhaps? There is a lot to like and enjoy in a piece like this one and I really look forward to finding more work from Zace.

Statue

 

Queen Victoria

ghostly white, still, stony gaze

commands her subjects.

 

by Scooj

 

On noticing that the statue of Queen Victoria on the edge of College Green in Bristol has been cleaned up, but the dirt that gave the statue details some relief, has gone and she now resembles a ghost. Happy Halloween.

970. Upfest 2017 (30)

The artist who created this piece has an interesting and colourful background. I will quote the profile from the Upfest programme:

Lapiz started wheat pasting in the streets of New Zealand after moving there from South Africa where he had worked in HIV research. The immense cultural shock proved to be a source of inspiration but needed a vent which was and still is street art. While living in Buenos Aires the many murals inspired him to paint his thought provoking stencils on a large scale.’

H

This piece for Upfest is challenging, but also beautiful. Split into three colour sections the whole piece presents as slightly menacing…balaclavas are always menacing…but also witty and very skilfully composed. I like this one a lot, and it really stood out.

UPDATE (7 September 2017) – following an instagram exchange, Lapiz shared a description of the piece as follows:

Female #nipples still have to be covered in public or the internet. But when it is a painting they usually aren’t. But what happens if you paint one of the best known statue of a woman, the #venus of milo as she was a real person including the nipples. And how would the spectator react. That is what i did for #upfest2017 a #streetartfestival with thousands of visitors. The only way to do it, is to use a ridiculous amount of highly detailed stencils. The body has 9 layers, the toga 7. The pink beanie was done so she looks like a member of #pussyriot just to push the viewer into the right direction. What do you think?

779. Upfest 2016 (123)

Arguably the most stunning piece of the 2016 festival was this huge and very popular work by PichiAvo. These two artists, operating as a single entity, are from Valencia in Spain, but are busy working all over the world.

PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Their works, as far as I can make out are a synthesis of graffiti writing styles incorporated into classical statuesque images…or at least that is my take on it all. I expect there are scholarly descriptions out there, but however their work is categorised, it is undoubtedly beautiful and supremely well executed.

PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I know I have more pictures of this piece, but I’ll be damned if I can find them, so it’ll just have to be these three I’m afraid. Loads more on the Interweb if you want to see other magnificent works by this duo. They have a fine website too. Magnificent.