Tag: The Bearpit

322. The Bearpit 23

There are some artists who are so very hard to trace, and that is all part of the game. One such artist is The Agent…or at least that is what I think his name is. Another member of SSOSVA and another stencil artist. The Agent has a liking for dressing up Minions in rather menacing costumes or personas – in this instance a banana toting Frankenstein’s monster.

The Agent, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
The Agent, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

I have only seen a couple of his works around the Bristol area, suggesting that he is perhaps a visitor. I will update this post as and when I find out more. Who can’t resist a Minion?

UPDATE – I met The Agent at Upfest 2016, and he is most definitely from Bristol, furthermore, he is the father of another great Bristol street artist. So it just shows how easy it is to get things wrong…and embarrassing at times too. All part of the game.

291. The Bearpit (22)

One of the larger pieces by Decay sits at the end of the southern tunnel at the Bearpit. It is a piece that was sprayed back in April, but has been rather enduring, and is still there, or at least was last week.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

All the hallmark ingredients of a Decay piece are here, the black, grey, white and red colours layered in concentric circles in a freestyle manner, focusing on a red face/image at the centre.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

Decay’s work tends to be in these colours and general patterns and are nearly always pleasing to the eye. I recently saw on his Instagram feed a piece that he sprayed in blue shades for ‘battle of the oceans’ whatever that is. It may be a bit samey, but I am a really big fan of his work.

286. The Bearpit (22)

There is something very pleasing about walking around the city looking for interesting things and making discoveries. Every now and then you see a real gem that shines so brightly but others do not seem to see. It is not a gift, but at times it feels like one.

Yvette Byrd? The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016
Yvette Byrd? The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016

This is a beautiful and refreshing piece that recently appeared in the Southern tunnel of The Bearpit. I am guessing, but I have little to go on that this drawing/pastel? is by Yvette Byrd. The only clue I have is in the tiny paste up at the bottom right, with a beautiful poem and signature. I have googled Yvette Byrd, but nothing relevant comes up.

Yvette Byrd? The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016
Yvette Byrd? The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016

So I must enjoy this piece for what it is rather than the celebrity of its creation. Maybe more work will appear and the pieces of the jigsaw come together. This piece says to me ‘dare to be different’. Somebody new trying something new.

283. The Bearpit (21)

In Bristol, most of the political street art seems to be created by stencil specialists. I guess the technique lends itself to writing messages and combining them with famous, iconic or striking figures.

Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016
Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016

In this beautifully executed example by Dice 67, we see a homeless man holding up a banner, while behind him there is a group of Tory politicians, in what appears to be a police line up. The Prime Minister is accompanied by Gove, Hunt, Osborne and one other. The Tory manufactured mantra since the coalition has been ‘we’re all in it together’. Obviously it is not the case, as the wealthy continue to get wealthier and the poorest in our communities are dropping through the cracks.

Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016
Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016

Whether I agree or not with this piece is irrelevant in so much as it is a fantastic work and worthy of greater exposure. Dice 67 is a brilliant stencil artist, and I always love it when he visits Bristol and leaves something like this behind.

Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016
Dice 67, The Bearpit, Bristol, June 2016

He signs off the piece with his usual spray cans. A great work.

264. The Bearpit (20)

This is a beautiful triptych photographed in the West tunnel of the Bearpit back in January 2016. At the time I didn’t know very much about Mr Draws, the artist, and the images disappeared in my ever expanding archive.

Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2016
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2016

Mr Draws appears to be getting more active on the street art side of things and his work is popping up all over the place. The last of his works I featured was in Dean Lane skate park, and you can see his style pulsing through this creature.

Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2016
Mr Draws, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2016

This piece is absolutely wonderful, I like to think of it as a fox, but on closer inspection, I’m not too sure what animal it is. Top marks for this lovely work, sadly long since gone.

261. The Bearpit (19)

19When it comes to Deamze pieces, we have come to expect some complex and elaborate wildstyle work. It is not always the case though, and this is an example of a simpler style of piece that he produces from time to time.

Deamze, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Deamze, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

More like a throw up (a rapidly produced and usually spontaneous work), this clean and simple piece demonstrates the full range of talent springing from the incredibly prolific Deamze. Bristol’s greatest writer?

Deamze, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Deamze, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

250. The Bearpit (18)

Since becoming aware of Laic217’s work work only a matter of two months ago, I seem to find his stuff everywhere. This is his latest piece that can be found on the staircase down into The Bearpit on the Northern side.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016

The head, and the colours used in this piece remind me of ‘the Mekon‘ who was the alien villain in the Dan Dare strip from the Eagle comic. My grandparents had a set of Eagle annuals, and I would read them from cover to cover when I used to stay. I ought to add, that they had belonged to my uncles, and that I was reading them several years after their publication. I digress.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016

I believe Laic217’s work is finding its place in the general order of Bristol street art, and is continually improving. He belongs to a small group of street artists that spray in both North and South Bristol. This is a good piece.

239. The Bearpit (17)

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit, a spot favoured by Decay. His style is so utterly unique,  always using the same black, white, grey and red colours, and his freestyle approach tends to have concentric rings of shapes spreading from the centre, although I think he works from the outside in.

Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2016

This is a nice political piece, demanding a stop to Tory cuts and incorporating a visual prompt. Nice drips. There is room for filling in the blank here…one for the taggers?

237. The Bearpit (16)

At one corner of The Bearpit, there is a large advertising cube which rises above the sunken area and can be viewed at the road level. It is a very prominent landmark when arriving in the centre of town. What is great about it is that it is not festooned with corporate marketing or consumer products. No…this is a place for messages to the people of Bristol by the people of Bristol. Some messages are politically inert, others are political commentary presented in a way so typical of this area.

Sepr, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016
Sepr, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016

This piece by Sepr is an interesting statement, a bomb holding hands with children – more thoughtful than the latest Mercedes model or Insurance company.

Sepr, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016
Sepr, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016

There is something slightly unsettling about the piece, the smiling bomb, the silhouetted children. I think this work has just been replaced very recently. You can see on the adjacent face a message ‘Peace – and not just for Christmas’.

Sepr, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016
Sepr, The Bearpit, Bristol, March 2016

208. North Street (A38)

In the grubbiest little bit of street on the northern approach to St. James Barton Roundabout and The Bearpit from Stokes Croft, is a building that spans across the main road called 51º02. It is not the most beautiful of buildings. On a side wall is this incredibly well concealed Gregos face.

Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016
Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016

Gregos needs no introduction, but for those new to his work, I point you in the direction of a previous post about a mask he did in the other North Street in Bedminster. This face really has to be hunted down, most people pass by it completely oblivious…this is the joy and mischief of street art.

Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016
Gregos, North Street (A38), Bristol, April 2016

The forlorn face complements well the large metal disk it has been attached to, and indeed the general demeanour of this tatty stretch of road. Another great work from the Frenchman.