Tag: Street art

2902. The Bearpit (186)

This prophetic piece by Object… in The Bearpit was a protest and exposure of Bristol City’s determination to shut down the space and clear it of all ‘undesirable’ activity and make it a safe, clinical space. Object… quotes from Tom Flemming a creative consultant for Bristol City Council:

“…it will also be vital to champion the messy, the marginal and the avante garde, where imagination drives the city of the future.”

The Council shut The Bearpit down, expelled the homeless people (some of whom I note have returned), removed skateboarding and buffed all the walls with anti-graffiti paint. The space is now sterile (and indeed safer), but street art and graffiti were not contributing to a lack of safety, but perceptions seemed to rule the Council decision making. A council, I would add, that celebrates its association with Banksy. Some muddled thinking here.

Object..., The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Object…, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018

Object…’s piece once again features a contorted and strangely proportioned figure propping up the rights of the overlooked, the messy, marginal and avante garde mentioned above. He is a true champion and I salute him.

 

2901. M32 Spot (64)

Going through the archives is turning out some nice surprises, and I have been fiding quite a few old pieces by Conrico, like this one at the M32 Spot from August 2018, at a time when I wasn’t familiar with the artist.

Conrico, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2018
Conrico, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2018

This wonderful melty column piece I suspect in some way might be drug related. There is certainly something fairly unusual and dreamlike going on and the separation of the character’s head and copious amounts of smoke suggest something weird is going on. Ever colourful and imaginative, Conrico is a lovely bloke whose work really brightens the place up.

2900. Dean Lane skate park (305)

The great thing about looking back is that you get to see what artist’s work looked like some time ago and how they might have developed over time. This fabulous pair of rabbits from Nevergiveup (#followmyrabbits) is from April 2018 and is notably different from more recent incarnations of the characters in two respects: the amount of decoration on the torso is much more limited, and the ears much smaller than on the 2020 versions.

Nevergiveup, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Nevergiveup, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018

We have to remember that the artist has only been in Bristol for about three years, it feels much longer because of the abundance and spread of rabbits, but in street art terms it is a relatively short time. The image below is a more recent incarnation pf a Nevergiveup rabbit, can you see the differences?

Nevergiveup, Lucky Lane, Bristol, February 2020
Nevergiveup, Lucky Lane, Bristol, February 2020

2899. M32 cycle path (57)

Aah, it is so easy to forget how bright and shiny (or shite and briney as an old colleague of mine used to say) this collaboration was when it was painted. Its quality has stood the test of time and it remained untouched for a very long spell – I think it has finally been painted over.

Dot Rotten, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Dot Rotten, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

The collaboration on the M32 cycle path from 2018 was painted by Dot Rotten (SPOILT), Sled One and Smak. Dot Rotten is an artist Idon’t think I have posted before, but while I have been going through my archive recently I have spotted quite a few of his pieces, so expect more in the coming days/weeks.

Sled One, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Sled One, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

Sled One has done here what Sled One does everywhere and that is turned out a high-quality character piece with great panache and style. The skull s beautifully drafted and has an animated humour about it. A nice touch to have an ASK speech bubble coming out of the cigarette.

Smak, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Smak, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018

On the right hand side of the collaboration is a clean, crisp and straight forward Smak piece which stands out from the wall thanks to the yellow outline and bright highlight spots. The whole collaboration has been painted on a shared background and colour selections and was a welcoming sight on this stretch of cycle path.

2898. Leonard Lane (25)

This wonderful stencil piece in Leonard lane is by John D’oh and was one of several that were painted during a bit of a spree I think. The caption ‘People think I’m Banksy’  is a reference to Massive Attack star Robert del Naja (on the right), who has been suspected of being Banksy and who some still think might be him.

John D'oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017
John D’oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017

It is a classic piece of John D’oh single-layer stencil work, and is emblematic of the whole Bristol street art scene and sub-culture. I have more to publish from this John D’oh session in 2017 and will get round to more of them if the lock down persists.

2897. Bedminster

I don’t quite remember exactly the name of the road that this stunning Feoflip piece is in, but it is in Bedminster off East Street I think. Just one of the amazing legacy of works left behind by the artist during and after Upfest 2016. I like everything about this artist – his style and soft colour choices, his attention to finding the right spot and his adventurous spirit.

Feoflip, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Feoflip, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

This Picassoesque face in grey shades on the mustard yellow background works perfectly on the red brick wall. Feoflip seems to have developed a technique that generates splatty thin lines that create the detail in his work and give it a really interesting texture. Unlike any other artist I have seen, Feoflip’s unique style works really well for me. I do hope he returns to Bristol before too long.

2896. Hepburn Road (15)

Tucked away in a lane not usually associated with Kid Crayon was this rather unusual two-tone piece from July 2017. One of the things that I would often associate with Kid Crayon is his abundant use of colour, so this was something of a change.

Kid Crayon, Hepburn Road, Bristol, July 2017
Kid Crayon, Hepburn Road, Bristol, July 2017

My guess is that this was a quick one that was more for his own amusement than for public display. I love finding works like this, because they show another side of an artist and the range and diversity of their work. Without the signature, this would be quite difficult to identify as a KC piece. I’m not sure what the speech bubble says, but it looks like ‘wired’ to me. Does it refer to KC himself or to the character of the piece?

2895. Raleigh Road vector (30)

This long piece is a bit of a monster and unusually garish for Soker. It has the appearance of a huge washing up session with the grimey green slime getting a bit of a clean up from the bubbly water. The SOKER will come clean.

Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2019
Soker, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2019

Painted in February last year, the piece would have been one of the last to appear on this particular wall, because not long after the hoardings were removed and the block of flats inhabited. Previously the empty lot had been a wonderful spot and was used every year by Upfest. Another loss to the Bristol street art community, but at least the housing provided looks like it was appropriately affordable.

2894. M32 cycle path (56)

Oh what a beauty from Rezwonk on the M32 cycle path. I think that the most prolific artists are at greater risk of having work that I struggle to post. One of the reasons for this is that I like to present a representative spectrum of the street/graffiti in Bristol and so if an artist paints three walls in a week, I will reserve a couple of them to post at a later date… this is a later date, a much later date.

Rezwonk, M32 cycle path, Bristol, April 2019
Rezwonk, M32 cycle path, Bristol, April 2019

I really love this piece, the colours, the letter style and the details. Set on a flame-coloured background of Rezwonk ‘R’ tags, the letters are supported with a deep 3D shadow that seems to have a vanishing point somewhere behind the ‘Z’. The finishing touches of cracks in some of the letters adds even more interest to the whole thing. Classy.

2893. Millpond Street (8)

It was those damn shadows cast across the piece from bright sunlight passing through leafy trees. That is why I never posted this magnificent wall from SPZero76. It is not the first time and it won’t be the last time that I have struggled with this wall. Having said that, I usually manage to get back and take a picture on a dull day, regrettably not on this occasion.

SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017
SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017

SPZero76 has an arrangement with the owners of the wall where he decorates it for them and they pay for the paint. Not a bad arrangement really. This piece from 2017 is painted entirely in three or four tones, and looks a lot like the artist’s sketches that he churns out regularly.

SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017
SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017

Painted in the pre-EAT era (the collaborative partnership with Kid Crayon) this is a solo piece with all the wonderful detail we expect from SPZero76. The Ancient Egyptian inspired scene includes figures that appear to be a fusion of people with robots, a favourite theme used by SPZero76.

SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017
SPZero76, Millpond Street, Bristol, February 2017

I am always completely baffled by the fine detail detail that he manages to incorporate into his work and I am happy at last to share it with you after so long under wraps.