Stokes Croft – Natural adventures

2210. Stokes Croft

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.

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.

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.

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.

Loads more to come from this fabulous French artist.

2190. Matchbox Gallery

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.

2123. 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.

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.

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.

2084. Stokes Croft, Turbo Island (4)

Yet another amazing surprise from a week or two back walking on my way to work was this magnificent collaboration by DNT and Hazard. Previously this wall had hosted a fine collaboration by Soap, Hazard and Tasha Bee.

Hazard and DNT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2019

I haven’t seen any animals by Hazard before, only pictures of people’s faces, so this was definitely a lovely new insight for me. The Tiger’s face is brilliantly painted using as spectrum of white through to black spray paints, and it works perfectly on this wall.

The whole piece is brightened up with colourful writing by DNT on then left and Hazard on the right. The only thing I am n ot certain about here is whether Hazard’s name was by her or DNT. If it was by Hazard, then this is another first for me. Turbo Island is becoming a really great spot once again thanks to the efforts of PRSC and others who are working hard to make use of this wall.

2032. Stokes Croft

I am going back a long way (December 2015) through my archive now to share this piece by DNT and another artist, possibly Mr Sleven, but I am not sure. I really don’t know why I have held on to this for so long, because it is a fine and rather unusual collaboration next to the Matchbox Gallery.

DNT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2015

The ‘stone’ cherub is by DNT, and for a while there were a few of these dotted around the area. I have a feeling that the cherub sitting in a pile of spray cans is a stencil, which is a surprise as I’m not aware of any other stencils by DNT.

I love the way the whole thing is black and white apart from little flashes of colour on the spray cans. A memorable piece.

2022. Stokes Croft

Something a bit different today. Where Stokes Croft and City Road meet, there are some poster frames on a wall, which I think have been installed by the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC). The posters here could easily be mistaken for the random advertising we are subjected to on a daily basis and which we tend to ignore and filter out as white noise. But take a slightly closer look and you’ll see something quite different.

Unknown artist, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019

I don’t know who the artist(s) is/are that put these posters together, but I thoroughly enjoy seeing them when I walk past. Often with some political undertone the wry humour shines through. The first is of a spoof Evening Standard (check the spelling) billboard, stating that ‘things can only get bitter’ a direct reference to the current Brexit crisis that continues to divide the country.

The next poster shows a portrait of David Cameron with paper peeling off where his face is to reveal large corporate office blocks (banks?) behind – surely they are not suggesting the ex PM was driven by capitalist ideology..?

The third poster is a commentary on the ‘social media brain drain’ with a character, loosely based on Mickey Mouse encouraging people to look up from their phones. I wonder how many people look up and read this poster…not many I would guess.

All of these posters are provocative and humorous and I’ll keep looking out for more. Perhaps I’ll get lucky and find out who is behind them too.

Thursday doors

Doors 59

This week I thought I’d share a few of the doors I encounter every time I walk to work, with one or two that are set back a little from my main route. Most are from Stokes Croft, arguably the most ‘colourful’ stretch of road in Bristol (which is some achievement let me tell you).

The first two doors are neighbours, one maintained rather better than the other. It is the awnings over these doors that I love, and which are so typical of some of the older houses in Bristol, although many no longer exist at all…War effort?

Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019

The next three doors are typical of the heavy tagging that goes on in this district. Nearly all of the housing in the area is rented accommodation, and landlords seem to be resigned to the futility of removing the tagging and graffiti – it is an accepted norm here. Having said that, I noticed this week that a couple of buildings have had a makeover and the walls and doors are all freshly painted…a blank canvass?

The last door I have meant to include here before but never had the right story to tell with it. As a small enterprise just off Stokes Croft, it fits the bill nicely and rounds off this week’s doors.

Door, Wilder Street, Bristol, January 2019

More next week. Go check out a whole ton more doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

by Scooj

	Lemuel on 2210. Stokes Croft
	Lemuel on 2210. Stokes Croft
	paulh121 on 2214. Hepburn Road (9)
	paulh121 on 2213. Wilder Street (31)
	scooj on Play

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