Tag: Street art

457. Upfest 2016 (54)

This brilliant swirling ‘Bristol’ by Voyder really felt like the signature piece for this year’s Upfest. Visitors to the festival were queuing up to take selfies and group pictures in front of this piece. I wonder how many of them knew it was Voyder’s work – it matters not, they saw it for what it is, a joyful celebration of Bristol art.

Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Voyder is a prolific graffiti artist and many of his pieces seem to be inaccessible, especially if you aren’t prepared to enter derelict sites, so it is especially nice to have one of his pieces in an area with high footfall. Around the time of upfest, Voyder was spraying quite a lot of these ribbon effect pieces, most memorably the Lichtenstein piece neat the Tobacco Factory, now long gone. This is just more stunning stuff from one of the best Bristol writers.

456. Upfest 2016 (53)

Well, here it is, the ‘official’ piece by What Have I Done Now. This Alice in Wonderland work seems to create a graffiti wall all on its own. An anarchic Alice (the piece is called ‘A is for Alice) stands looking at a colourful wall (with drips!) and casts a beautiful shadow. I can’t quite read the words on the left of the picture, but I think it says ‘curiouser and curiouser, (?) I am. Which way do I go?’  which is a slight corruption of the original quote.

What Have I Done Now, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
What Have I Done Now, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I am very fond of the Alice in Wonderland story, having read it more than once, but also having listened to the most incredible double album musical version of the book starring Karen Dotrice, Bruce Forsyth, Dirk Bogard, Tommy Cooper and many other incredible actors. I listened to this hundreds of times with my sister when we were kids. This artwork has sent me on a hunt for the album and, goodness me, the Interweb has come up trumps. I cannot tell you how happy I am to be able to listen to the album again after some forty years or so – you can hear it on YouTube here. I thoroughly recommend it. Happy now.

455. Upfest 2016 (52)

You may recall that I posted paste ups of a mouse and a cat by 23 Magpies recently. Well here is another one of the treats that she left behind at Upfest. This time, always on a wildlife theme, we are presented with a charming wheatpaste of a newt drawn onto the cover of an Ian Maclaren title page.

23 Magpies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
23 Magpies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush was Ian Maclaren’s first story about rural Scottish life. I have no idea if this is of any significance to the piece by 23 Magpies, or if it is a random bit of book used as a background context for the little newt. Whatever the intention, the execution is once again excellent. I think there may be more to come from 23 Magpies in these Upfest posts.

454. Upfest 2016 (51)

There is something dark, political and edgy about What Have I Done Now’s work. His paste ups are full of menace, like this one (called laugh riot) of a riot police figure, waving a US flag and adorned with Mickey Mouse ears. Taking a swipe at some attitudes in a small wheatpaste without words is part of the skill of this kind of street art.

What Have I Done Now, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
What Have I Done Now, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This piece was situated in the small lane at the bottom end of Dean Lane skate park where it joins North Street. I think some bits of it still remain. I have also found in my Upfest archive his ‘official’ piece for the festival and I will post it shortly.

This is one for the fans of political street art, an art form that seems to be slightly out of vogue at the moment.

453. M32 Roundabout J3 (18)

Recently I have become much more aware of the extraordinary works by Ments. His works recently have often been side by side with one of Bristol’s brightest young street artists, Sled One. I don’t know too much about Ments, but know that I really like his work.

Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016
Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016
His wildstyle writing has a wonderful organic feel to it…forget about straight lines and geometry, this stuff looks like weird kinds of biological matter under a microscope. The letters spell out Ments in fabulous colours and shapes.

Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016
Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016
I have more works by Ments and will post them soon, but I hope with a little more about the artist himself. This stuff is pretty awesome, I think.

452. Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare (5)

Even if you haven’t seen the film series – ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street‘ you will almost certainly have seen representations or images of Freddy Krueger, the villain of the piece. If you haven’t, then here he is in all his nightmarish glory. This is a magnificent stencil piece by JPS (who else), that faithfully conveys the Krueger character.

JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
I have written a lot about JPS and how much I admire his work, and it is when you get up close to pieces like this that you really appreciate his incredible skill. His love for the entertainment industry and the characters it creates provides him with plenty of material.

JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
JPS, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
JPS seems to enjoy the horror, sci-fi and adventure genres as well as straying occasionally into cartoon characters. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…JPS is pretty much responsible for me writing about street art in the first place, so he is in my view, a bit of a hero, an inspiration. 

450. Cowper Street, Shoreditch, London (1)

When I first started my two days a week working in London this Summer, I stayed in a hotel on City Road and ventured out towards Shoreditch without really knowing what I would find. One of the first encounters with street art I had was this bold signature piece by Thierry Noir.

Thierry Noir, Cowper Street, London, August 2016
Thierry Noir, Cowper Street, London, August 2016

Thierry Noir is a significant French street artist and has a Wikipedia page just to emphasise the fact. He claims to have been the first street artist to paint the Berlin Wall…more in the link. I love his simple style and bold colours. He hardly needs to sign his works, but this one said to me ‘welcome to Shoreditch’.

 

 

449. Whitby Street, Shoreditch, London (2)

Sometimes, when a piece is so good, it is probably better not to say too much about it. This magnificent work is by AKA Jimmy C and immediately adjacent to another of his fine pieces that I posted about on August 18 this year.

AKA Jimmy C, Whitby Street, London, August 2016
AKA Jimmy C, Whitby Street, London, August 2016

I particularly like the photograph that shows all the air conditioning pipes on the wall. Placement is a major skill with street art and this is perfectly placed. Massive respect to AKA Jimmy C. This is so good.

AKA Jimmy C, Whitby Street, London, August 2016
AKA Jimmy C, Whitby Street, London, August 2016

448. Brick Lane (2)

In a small side street off Brick lane, there is a fairly squalid car park…the perfect site for some great street art and graffiti art. At this site there were some wonderful pieces which I will get round to posting some time. My eye was caught, however, just as I was leaving the side street by this fabulous D7606 pasteup.

D7606, Brick Lane, London, August 2016
D7606, Brick Lane, London, August 2016

I like the bright colours he uses, the icons he adopts (in this case the telephone itself and David Bowie) and his recognisable style. Although a small piece, this is really fun art.

447. Brick Lane (1)

It is not so long ago that I hadn’t come across Osch. Now it seems he is popping up in my blog rather regularly. This is another in his series of orange/yellow circles with a scene going on inside. This particular piece incorporates another of his trademark styles, which is to have an unfurling ribbon effect.

Osch, Brick Lane, London, August 2016
Osch, Brick Lane, London, August 2016

I like this piece for several reasons, but particularly for its location and subject that reflect the adjacent tourist shop.

Osch, Brick Lane, London, August 2016
Osch, Brick Lane, London, August 2016