Thursday doors – 22 May 2025 – Copenhagen doors, Denmark

Doors 308 – Copenhagen, Denmark (part VIII), September 2024

I made a mistake last week. Today is not my last post from Copenhagen, it is in fact definitely the penultimate post and next time will be the last one – I promise.

I am getting a little overwhelmed with work and real life distractions, but my blog is my safe space where I can exercise a little mindfulness and calm, for me. I try to make time and space to write every day, and even though some of it is absolute nonsense, it is a great discipline. I say all this, to try and explain my error last week. It is, however, trivial and unimportant.

This week’s doors are from a slightly less affluent area of Copenhagen and is a series of graffiti doors. My knowledge of Danish street/graffiti artists is negligible, so I won’t even try to identify them. I do like the way doors are used in this way, whether it is high-end art or simply tagging, it adds a layer of story to the doors. I hope you enjoy them.

Rex and Bobby door, Estlandsgade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Rex and Bobby door, Estlandsgade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Heavily tagged doors Viktoriagade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Heavily tagged doors Viktoriagade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Tagged steps, entrance and door, Dybbolsgade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Tagged steps, entrance and door, Dybbolsgade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Three sets of doors, Ullerupgade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Three sets of doors, Ullerupgade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Tagged door with a rather nice owl in the middle, Amerikavej, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Tagged door with a rather nice owl in the middle, Amerikavej, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
So much tagging going on with these institution doors, Kapelvej, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
So much tagging going on with these institution doors, Kapelvej, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Fabulous character painted on basement doors, Kapelvej, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Fabulous character painted on basement doors, Kapelvej, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Yellow bird and double doors (I saw a lot of this bird character on my visit), Norrebrogade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
Yellow bird and double doors (I saw a lot of this bird character on my visit), Norrebrogade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024

While I recognise that this selection of doors might not be everyone’s cup of tea, they further illustrate a different aspect of how doors are seen and used. Next time, I will be bidding a fond farewell to the doors of Copenhagen, I hope to see you then.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.

Thursday Doors

6923. St Werburghs tunnel (496)

Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025

This bold piece by Corupt is in the darkest part of the St Werburghs tunnel, and I had to do a little bit of brightness and colour manipulation to bring out the best in these photographs. The tunnel is a great street art/graffiti spot, especially in wet weather, but the light conditions can make photography very challenging at times.

Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025

This is a really beautifully presented Chrome piece, spelling out STICK, set on a pink background, with a fine red line outside the thicker black border, a design element that is a bit of a signature of the artist’s work. There is something rather unusual and appealing about his letter style. Great piece if you can actually see it in the gloom.

6922. Dean Lane skate park (831)

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

There are a couple of things that are slightly unusual about this piece by Fade. The first is that it is a solo piece and not a collaboration with Dibz and second, it has unfamiliar letters, as it is a tribute to ‘the Mrs’ to use Fade’s words, although I can’t remember her name, and I am struggling to decipher the letters.

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

The graffiti writing is flawless, as you would expect, and stands out on the large wall with a black background. There is a little too much brown for my own personal taste, but I have spoken enough about that in recent posts. Really stand out work from Fade

6921. M32 roundabout J3 (679)

Short, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
Short, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025

This piece, by Short, is really easy to miss. It is in one of the tunnels under the M32 roundabout where the lighting is poor, and one’s mind is focussed on not being run down by a bicycle or e-scooter rather than stopping to look at the graffiti writing. If photographing such pieces is hazardous, I can’t imagine what it is like to try and paint in such a confined space.

Short, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
Short, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025

The black, joined-up letters, spelling SHORT are somewhat augmented, deliberately or otherwise, by the background created by a previous artist’s large chrome letters, which creates the perfect backdrop. I am enjoying the way that Short is popping up in different places around the city, and offering us a type of graffiti writing that is a step up from throw ups, and developing all the time.

6920. Stokes Croft

Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025
Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

It isn’t all that long ago that I wrote about how Bristol, although it has a super-vibrant street art scene, is less well represented on the wheatpaste side of things. Of course, when you say something like that, life has a way of proving you wrong, and I have since found a whole bunch of wheatpastes, many of them by Wilko in the Stokes Croft area.

Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025
Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

I haven’t come across Wilko before, but I have a feeling he might be from Birmingham. He certainly made the most of his visit to Bristol, and I will try to post more of his wonderful illustrations in due course. This orange and black piece has a feel of African-influenced art and cubism (which of course are related) about it. Great to see.

6919. East Street

Mr Penfold and Mul, East Street, Bristol, April 2025
Mr Penfold and Mul, East Street, Bristol, April 2025

This is a recent picture of a piece that I think was painted during Upfest last year, when Mul was visiting and dropped a few pieces about town. Here he has teamed up with Mr Penfold to create a fun and colourful collaboration.

Mr Penfold and Mul, East Street, Bristol, April 2025
Mr Penfold and Mul, East Street, Bristol, April 2025

Mul is known for his heart characters with legs and an eye. I’m not sure where Mul calls home, but occasional visits to Bristol are always very welcome. Mr Penfold is perhaps more commonly associated with his abstract commissions on shopfronts, but he intermittently produces these wonderful cartoon characters, presumably for fun. A tidy collaboration.

6918. M32 Cycle path (289)

Werm, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2025
Werm, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2025

Now, regular readers will know that brown is my least favourite colour when it comes to graffiti writing, and it is a path I am unlikely to deviate from or be persuaded otherwise, so the selection of brown aside… this is a really nice tight piece by Werm.

Werm, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2025
Werm, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2025

I rather like this letter style, which while keeping up the symmetry theme that Werm enjoys so much, also has something of a feel of Marvel or DC Comics about it, as if it should say ‘blam’ or ‘whack’ or something like that. Definitely a fun piece, well presented. Pity about the colour.

6917. Stokes Croft

Hemper, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025
Hemper, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

There are some newish hoardings at the bottom end of Stokes Croft, as the gentrification of the area once more picks up momentum. Kid Krishna has, as you would expect, pounced on these blank canvasses, but he left this space for Hemper, and what a banging piece it is too.

Hemper, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025
Hemper, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

Overall, the piece has a copper metallic feel to it, with the highly illustrated letters spelling out HEMS. The piece is obviously an homage to DJing and to sound systems, perhaps a reference to the Blue Mountain Club that was knocked down behind these hoardings. There is too much to describe in this sensational piece, so perhaps the best way to enjoy it is to spend a moment looking at each element of it.

Hemper, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025
Hemper, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

Of course, you can take a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. These two are symptomatic of the world we live in, where shutting yourself off and hiding behind headphones is the norm – no effort required, no thought given to exploring the world right in front of your eyes. C’est la vie I suppose.

6916. Dean Lane skate park (830)

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

Painted on one of Bristol’s most iconic walls, the curved wall in Dean Lane skate park, this is a birthday tribute piece to Soker by Dibz. Pieces like this have the capacity to confuse, because the letters do not spell the artist’s name, and I have in the past misidentified pieces because of it.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

Dibz really is a master of graffiti writing and is at the top of his game, something he has maintained for such a long time now, without any dip in form. The letters are filled with a solid black fill, and finely written ’50s’ indicating it was Soker’s 50th birthday. Great to see one of Dibz’ small signature tags in red at the top right too. Excellent work, and a fine birthday tribute.

6915. Stapleton Road

Nice One, Stapleton Road, Bristol, April 2025
Nice One, Stapleton Road, Bristol, April 2025

In terms of content, Nice One is one of the most dynamic artists in Bristol, he has created characters, landscapes, animals and here he offers up a dust cart, I mean… who’d have thought it?

Nice One, Stapleton Road, Bristol, April 2025
Nice One, Stapleton Road, Bristol, April 2025

The piece reminds me very much of Merny’s trucks and cars, in so much as the style is quite naive, with some interesting wheels for example. I love this piece, it is just so unusual, but demonstrates Nice One’s love for art and creativity in his inimitable style. I also love it that he kind of ‘owns’ this hoarding, like it is his private gallery.