I took a walk with my sister, who lives in London, a week ago and on her suggestion we headed over towards Brick Lane. On the way there we passed this wonderful stencil by Unify, which definitely met with her approval. There is something rather special about doorway art… perhaps it is the combination of two of my loves – street art and doors.
Unify, Shoreditch, London, April 2019
In my view, there is something a little sad about this chimpanzee who has sprayed ‘I Love You’ on the door, as if completely misunderstood and marginalised and yet still articulating love. We humans have done just about our worst when it comes to the fragile ecosystems where our great primates live but they bear us no grudges… that would be a human quality.
I love Unify’s work, but find that it is often tinged with a little sadness.
There was a time, and it wasn’t too long ago, when I thought that Soap only ever produced his mushroom-shaped mouths, in a variety of different styles and colours. However, over the last year or so, he has really branched out a whole lot and is doing a lot of writing – it seems many bristol artists are currently doing the same (Decay, Kid Crayon and Tasha Bee has just started too)
In this piece Soap has incorporated his mouths into a rather clever and intricate word SOAP. I love the two triangles that kind of hold the whole thing together and add interest. It reminds me a little of a mint choc-chip…it’s a colour thing.
One of the things to look forward to each year at Upfest is the collaborations from Caro Pepe and AgeAge. There is a chemistry when these two come together, not only in their styles, but in their personalities. It is obvious that they really enjoy working together and this is reflected in the fusion of their work.
Caro Pepe and AgeAge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Caro Pepe paints the faces, usually female and usually with one eye obscured in some way. AgeAge creates the robotic machinery that intertwines with the character. This pairing painted this wall last year too, so it could be considered their wall I think. I’m hoping that they will be returning next year.
During the Upfest 2018 weekend, I really struggled with who was painting this piece. The difficulty was that it was on a new wall that didn’t really offer close access and the artist was perched high up on scaffolding. It turns out that the piece is by Bristol’s magnificent Jody.
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Jody is meticulous with his work and certainly never rushes. For this reason, many visitors to Upfest never actually get to see his finished pieces, until they return some time later. It was days before he finished this one, but wow, it was well worth the wait.
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This is a cleverly worked portrait of a woman behind a golden cat mask and it truly outstanding. Like so many of his works it seems to have gravitas…I can’t really express what I mean by that other than that there is a seriousness about the work. Beautiful piece beautifully executed.
Things in the Stokes Croft area have been a bit slow compared with some of the other spots in town, so it was nice to spot this quick collaboration between Ryder and T-Rex. These two nearly always paint together, and their comfortable friendship comes across in all their pieces.
Ryder and T-Rex, Armada Place, Bristol, September 2018
I can’t quite work out where the white lines came from and the writing – I think it says ‘Spray summit innit’, and although it looks slightly incongruous I think it is part of the piece and not a tag. Fun stuff from these two.
The Bearpit street/graffiti art walls are under threat. Bristol City Council appears to be taking a tougher position on the walls and boards and has recently started to paint over some fine pieces that have been there for ages. My guess is that this is a task that will bring no joy to anybody, as artists and officials play tit-for-tat paint wars. Street art and graffiti are part of what makes Bristol special, part of its USP, and by over-regulating it you will destroy it and the culture around it – all you will end up with is sterile corporate pieces that don’t really represent the local scene.
It feels odd to me going to cities, for example Chichester, that have no graffiti or ‘legal walls’ but held a festival a few years back and has some very nice pieces dotted about the place on carefully selected walls. The problem I have with that is that it is all sanitised and signed-off by the ruling classes of the city. Where is the budding street art culture in Chichester? there is none to speak of, just some imported art to create a sense of ‘edge’ but actually totally safe and permitted to the nth degree.
I say all this because at the recent paint jam in The Bearpit, several artists, including Skor85 made their feelings clear. How strange it might seem in a few months time that there won’t be any walls left where they can make their feelings known, without the permission of the officials of Bristol. This will inevitably lead to more and widespread illegal art.
Skor85, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Skor85’s meaasge is loud and clear “Could you live without freedom of expression?” The piece itself is delightful, a vibrant plant emitting sparks of colour set on a background of purples, reds and oranges. I like it a lot.
Going back just a little, I found this unusual collaboration between Decay and Dirtystreetart. QI know a lot about the former and have posted a lot of his work here, the latter though is new to me, and I am guessing that he was visiting Bristol.
Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
I think this collaboration works really well, Decay adding some green to his usual red white and black abstract work fusing brilliantly with the photorealistic ant in the middle of the piece by Dirtystreetart.
Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
I was pleased to get this shot of the piece, because it didn’t get to hang around for too long before getting sprayed over. I’m not sure if these two have collaborated before, but I think this works well, and I would certainly like to see more from the pair.
Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
Having just checked out Dirtystreetart on the Interweb, it turns out he comes from Cheltenham, as does Decay, before he made his home in Bristol, which would go some way to explaining this collaboration.
I have been mulling over the best way to present the Read and Weep (RAW) wall at Upfest this year, because there are six artists involved in the whole thing. I could have written one post about the whole collaboration, but regular readers will know that I like to concentrate a little on each artist…it is the way I do this blog. So here is the first of the RAW wall from left to right – Smak.
Smak, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
This is a fabulous piece of wildstyle writing, and I have been trying to decypher it. Obviously, the first thing I would look for is SMAK, but I just can’t see it, so my guess is that it says RAW, which is a little more visible in the image above.
Smak, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The colour scheme was pretty much observed by all six artists, and the bright blue background really set off all the pieces brilliantly, particularly in the changeable weather over the three days. This long wall really was one of the highlights of Upfest 2017.
A street artist I have long admired is Facef1st, about whom I still know practically nothing. He keeps a low profile and that’s that. I guess it is because he mostly does his work on illegal walls and hoardings (although such things are tolerated much more in Bristol than in other cities).
FaceF1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017
In recent months he has taken to using muted colours that are much more subtle than some of the work you see around the place. This particular work is also rather larger than most of his pieces. It is difficult to judge from this picture, but the wall is probably about 12ft high.
FaceF1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2017
The wildstyle writing of this piece is much more disguised, but you can make out the word FACE if you look hard. As always, the simplicity of the face itself is part of what makes these pieces so effective. I still enjoy finding his work dotted about the place, and have quite a few in my archive yet to be published.
This is what graffiti art is all about – a slightly dodgy alley with a derelict store room where the door has given way. Here RIP has found the perfect spot to spray one of his ‘Dia de muertos’ stencils. I know I sound like a scratched record, but half of the art of graffiti art is the placement of the piece.
RIP, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2017
I’m not too sure when RIP did this piece, but I think it might have been during Upfest, so it falls neatly into the category of a little gift left behind after the festival. More from RIP to follow soon.
Natural adventures 