This piece by Haka in Stokes Croft is of course a commentary on Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, a pair of demagogues currently in charge of two great democracies doing their best to appease the far right voter and in doing so sustain their power.
Haka, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2019
I’m not sure what cartoon/game character this piece is based on although I have seen it somewhere, but the Trump figure is in the belt of the Boris character and the two are inextricably joined by both philosophical and physical characteristics. Hats off to Haka for this delightful piece lampooning these two buffoons.
A few more striking wheatpastes from Frenchman Tian on the streets of Stokes Croft. Unfortunately with all the rain we’ve been having, several of these have started to peel off and disapppear, but I guess that is the ephemeral nature of street art.
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
There appear to be two colour variants of this stencil piece of an oriental woman looking so beautiful with flowers in her hair, this blue one, and a slightly less colourful sepia one.
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
I am so full of admiration for the way Tian works his art – first sourcing a great photograph, then creating a stencil from it, then printing off and cutting out paste ups and finally finding the precise and thought-out locations for each of them. He is a true master of his craft and I am an enormous fan.
Well you have seen a couple of these now in recent posts, so you should be able to tell me the artist’s name. It is of course yet another sensational wheatpaste by French artist Tian who visited Bristol in early May, I think. Once again I am left uncertain who is featured in this stencil paste up, but the detail on the tattoo is incredible.
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
I absolutely love this one, not only for its technical brilliance, but also for the interesting pose and picture selected and more so the exact spot where the piece was pasted. A window that was already fairly heavily fly-posted and stickered is no dominated by this beautiful woman. One of my favourites of his great portfolio of work. Still many more to come.
Wow, just wow, another wonderful paste up from Tian down in Stokes Croft. This one features a boxer, but I fear I don’t know which one. I have Googled Muhammad Ali, it might be him; Apollo Creed, it’s not him; Joe Foreman, it might be him when he had hair; Joe Frazier, I don’t think it’s him. And there my knowledge of boxers dries up… any ideas?
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
The wheatpaste itself is a beautiful stencil using his preferred yellow/sepia tones, I just don’t think I can get enough of his work and rather joyfully I have a whole load more to post over the coming weeks.
I can’t express how excited I was to see this last week, but it appears that Tian has been on another tour of Bristol and has left dozens of paste ups in the Stokes Croft area. Although He came for Upfest 2016, his last wheatpasting drop was in April 2016 so it has been some time, but how utterly worth the wait.
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Over the next few weeks I will post more of his pieces. Once again he presents us with stencil work that has been printed and pasted up and this first design appears to be a Japanese scene with a geisha. If any of his past work is a guide, the piece is probably taken from a famous film, but I don’t know for sure.
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Unusually for the work of Tian that I have seen, this piece diverges from his normal sepia-toned pieces and in fact if you look carefully there are two different tones of orange used in the versions of this wheatpaste.
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
These four paste ups were from various spots on my way to work… what a walk that was. I seem to remember it was raining quite hard but it simply didn’t matter I was in street art appreciation mode.
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
Loads more to come from this fabulous French artist.
The Matchbox Gallery is a small shop in Stokes Croft that is run by DNT and hosts occasional exhibitions, although I’ve never quite made it into the shop to see one. If you plotted DNT’s street art on a map, the Matchbox Gallery would be at the centre and concentric circles or art density would radiate outwards from it. This collaboration above the Matchbox Gallery with Hazard would be the pin on the map.
Hazard and DNT, Matchbox Gallery, Bristol, April 2019
The two artists have created what I would call a true collaboration where their work is woven together and a shared style dominates. The mural depicts a tree and foliage which is emblazoned above the shopfront and a littlwe on the side too. I rather like the face in the window of the shop too. I believe there are plans afoot to move the Matchbox Gallery, but am not certain. Great mural for this part of Stokes Croft.
A new Mexican cantina has opened up in Stokes Croft called Masa and Mezcal where the old MEATliquor use to be. The cantina looks rather nice and has a fresher feel than its predecessor. Because this is Stokes Croft, it wouldn’t quite feel complete without some street art about the place, and this building has always had art and tags.
Jody, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2019
Who better to adorn this new outlet than Bristol’s Jody. Here he gives one of his beautiful portrait pieces which blends into the graffiti that pre-existed on the wall in a thoughtful and sensitive way, giving the whole thing an air of credibility rather than whitewashing and starting afresh.
Jody, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2019
This is a piece that will be missed by many, because although it is new, it looks like it has been here for ever. Very beautiful, very clever.
