Taboo – Natural adventures

4932. Nelson Street (17)

Taboo, Nelson Street, Bristol, December 2022

It was dark, and I was Christmas shopping when I passed by this shutter piece by Taboo in Nelson Street. I haven’t seen the piece in daylight since, so I don’t really know if the colours are a true representation in these pictures.

Taboo does paint rather a lot of shutters, and it would seem that he enjoys it, although it can’t be easy to do them, because of the textured surface. In common with several of his works, Taboo has incorporated a trippy Mickey Mouse character into his unruly letters. There is always so much to look at and admire in Taboo’s work, and I love the smiley peeping the first letter and the long ghoul-like fingers. I have been bamboozled by the letters, and am not too sure what they spell, APOS or OPOS maybe? A nice piece nonetheless.

4915. M32 roundabout J3 (441)

Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022

I have a feeling that Taboo is a modest artist. He is difficult to pin down on social media, and when I have seen him comment on his own work, he is quite critical of it (I remember writing about this in a post from some time ago). He keeps going though, turning out his own unique brand of anti-graffiti style pieces.

This is a technicolour beauty from Taboo full of interest and detail woven into the TABOO letters. On first inspection, it might appear to be a little untidy, but it is in face very nicely crafted and the fills lines and borders are on-point. This is an accomplished piece from a very good artist, who I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting… it will happen eventually. A fabulous Christmas present.

4859. Cumberland Basin

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2022

Taboo, is definitely going through a pink period, in fact it is a very popular colour all round in Bristol at the moment, and I don’t think I have seen so much pink paint since Stupid Stupid Meathole was active. I wonder what happened to him.

The unruly letters spell Taboo, with a skull and sphere making up the OO at the end. There are lots of little detail s and distortions to keep the eye busy in this piece, and a nicely worked PLB crew mention. Great work from Taboo, tucked away.

4826. Trinity Street

Taboo, Trinity Street, Bristol, November 2022

A little bit off the beaten track, and in a street that doesn’t have much of a graffiti culture, is this rather nice Taboo piece featuring Snagglepuss, a Hannah Barbera creation. On my arrival, the warehouse was just opening up, and I think the proprietors considered me a little odd photographing the graffiti outside their premises, but they let me get on with it.

The writing is characteristically unruly, with each letter taking on no particular consistency or form, but the whole being unmistakably Taboo. I am confused by the orange line, which, to my eye, disrupts the flow, and I think it might have been added by someone else, although with Taboo, you never really know. Nice to see this piece on my travels around the city.

4751. Lower Ashley Road (7)

Taboo, Lower Ashley Road, Bristol, August 2022

On a shutter, next to another of his works (the Garfield one), Taboo gives us one of his typically irregular pieces of writing. The style he adopts is known as anti-style or ignorant-style, as explained in this rather weird vlog.

The letters spell out TABOO, and in keeping with the style, there is an irreverence for high design or regularity that you might find in wildstyle writing. There is pleasure to be had from the piece, however, and the pink background overlaid with white letters somehow works really well. No characters to accompany the piece on this occasion, but a fine work nonetheless.

4680. Lower Ashley Road (6)

I couldn’t start today’s post without paying tribute to HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Irrespective of one’s views about the monarchy, Queen Elizabeth has been a stable constant for our nation and many others, when all around her there has been chaos. It will feel slightly odd not having her around any more.

It is rare for anyone to give up their life to serve others (apart from in the public sector, of course), but to do so with composure, integrity, decency, objectivity and solemnity is special and something that our politicians, the people with the real power, could learn from. The contrast between the Queen’s behaviour and that of Johnson or Truss is stark. RIP QEII.

Our lives go on, and there is street art to consider. This is a real beauty from Taboo on an old shopfront that often attracts inferior throw ups, but not in this instance. I drive along this road fairly frequently, and I simply love seeing this writing/character piece, there is a lot of mischief in it.

The writing is typically asymmetrical and unconventional, spelling out TABOO, although that might not be entirely obvious at first sight. Of course, it is the Garfield character that steals the show… brilliantly painted and perfectly cheeky. I now have four Garfield pieces in my archives. One more and I might have to do a Garfield special post!

4527. North Street

Weekends, early mornings and evenings reveal a whole extra opportunity for viewing street art, with the expanse of shop front shutters on view. In North Street, Bedminster, probably about a third of all the pieces on view are on shutters, and if you aren’t there at the right time they are pieces you simply will not see.

This fine shutter piece from Taboo is the second I have posted recently and is only a stone’s throw from his first. Taboos unconventional writing style presents an unusual TABOO, with a distorted Mickey Mouse face making up the first ‘O’. This is classic taboo and so good to see. I like his work and his style which is a shift from more conventional works we are used to seeing, and keeps things fresh.

4466. North Street

Timing can be crucial when photographing street art, and shutters in particular need to be down to be photographed properly or indeed at all. Parking also presents a problem (if not on foot) with some specific spots, and this shutter piece by Taboo on North Street has evaded me for far too long, but a week or son ago the stars aligned, and I was able to grab a couple of snaps.

Taboo has such an interesting style, that I have a feeling might be called anti-graff, although it is only a term I have recently become aware of, and I might have got that wrong. However, using his writing and character combination, Taboo has smashed this shutter, with great design, colour and a spectacular Minnie Mouse.

There is a lot to like here, made all the more admirable for being on a shutter, which are notoriously difficult to paint. Captured and catalogued at last.

4440. Cumberland Basin

One of the most recognisable styles in Bristol is from Taboo, and the interesting thing about that is that although he usually writes ‘Taboo’, no two pieces look the same, unlike some writers who like to recreate their letters in a similar format from piece to piece.

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2022

In this one, Taboo’s unruly letters, once again seem to defy convention, for example, he uses two different border colours halfway through the word. The letters are imaginative and creative, and don’t really follow a font style, although one can tell that they are all by the same artist. No character in this piece, which is a bit of a pity, because they add a further dimension to the overall work. This is yet another wonderful piece of writing from an artist who likes to plough his own furrow.

4327. Dean Lane skate park (475)

There are all sorts of conventions in the world of graffiti and street art, and broadly speaking most artists remain within the boundaries, albeit on a vast spectrum. There are some artists who seem to linger on the fringes of convention, either through their content or style, and I would class Taboo as one of those.

Although Taboo’s writing and character combinations are reasonably conventional, his lettering style and incorporation of characters is not, and this is what sets him apart from other artists. In this piece ‘reality is not enough’ his unusual letters, spelling out ‘Taboo’ in chrome, serve as a backdrop to a C. S. Lewis character from Alice in Wonderland, the caterpillar puffing on a hookah. This is wonderful hallucinogenic stuff, and I am rather sure that the author would probably approve.

	scooj on 5103. M32 Cycle path (203…
	scooj on 5101. Dean Lane skate park…
	paulh121 on 5104. Dean Lane skate park…
	paulh121 on 5103. M32 Cycle path (203…
	Sheree on 5100. M32 Cycle path (202…

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