I first encountered Mind Control’s work at Upfest 2017, and since then, the young artist has been improving steadily. Much of his work is themed around animal rights and this piece aligns to what is obviously a strong motivation for the artist. His perseverance and hard work has been rewarded with this Tobacco Factory spot for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days event.
Mind Control, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
The piece itself feels a little bit threatening and menacing with a masked and hooded hunt saboteur set in front of a stark background with barbed wire strung across it. Two foxes feature in the piece, presumably freed or protected by the character. This is a piece full of passion and not a little anger and it comes across in the colours, style and subject matter. Rather different from the more mainstream fare we have been used to seeing from Upfest this year.
The Upfest 2021 75 walls in 75 days event has been notable for the number of fabulous abstract murals on the front and sides of both commercial and residential buildings. Several of these murals have majored on natural themes and this one from Squirl is another beauty.
Squirl, The Nursery, Bristol, JUly 2021, Upfest 21
Squirl has smashed this wall with a bright and vibrant piece featuring mountains, trees and clouds. He is no stranger to Upfest, but I don’t think he has done one of these big walls before. I am always tinged with a little jealousy of the occupants of these houses with murals. I would love a mural on my house, but the stone surfaces are all wrong, and what would the neighbours say? 😁. Unfortunately, this house will probably always have a car parked outside it, so this is the best Photograph I could manage.
To paint this wall is probably nothing short of highly intimidating. Dan Kitchener and Andrew Burns Colwill Have both painted outstanding murals here, both of which have been much admired. Emily Donald has risen to the challenge and produced this glorious piece that is more than worthy of its predecessors.
Emily Donald, West Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Emily Donald, an artist based in Cornwall, is no stranger to Upfest and has previously painted much smaller pieces on 1m boards. This time she has gone large with this stunning aquatic piece and she has done it brilliantly.
Emily Donald, West Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Her work is usually wildlife-themed and has a wonderful brush-stroke feel to it. Emily Donald manages to capture and craft light and movement in her work so very well and this aquatic scene is bursting with both. When I took these pictures, there were several other people standing nearby admiring the new mural. Another jewel in Upfest’s crown and another beauty from Emily Donald.
Emily Donald, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018Emily Donald, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Compared to some of the flamboyant pieces painted at this year’s Upfest 75 walls in 75 days event, this one from Caryn Koh is delicately understated, and the wall set back from the main drag of North Street. The low-key nature of the mural should not, however, detract from its quality and the story it tells.
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Dr Caryn Koh, to give her full title, has painted this mural of two of her cousins and the story of the artwork in her own words is as follows:
The mural situated at Exeter Road, Bristol, is about the relationship between siblings; how we unknowingly grow apart and have our separate paths on life’s journey but there is that unbreakable bond that binds us together.
The piece is an absolute beauty and comes across more as a fine art piece than a street mural. Really impressive.
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Caryn Koh is from Malaysia, although I don’t know whether she came over to Bristol specially for Upfest or whether she is in the UK in any case. Either way, it is fabulous to see her work on this scale in our city. Another outstanding piece from Upfest 2021.
I came across this fabulous collaboration between Andy Council and Acer One quite by accident while they were painting it. I was actually seeking out another Upfest 75×75 piece on West Street and drove through this road on a bit of a cut- through. Andy Council was chatting with some people, but I did manage to meet Acer One for the first time, and of course, he was a great guy happy to stop for a while and talk about his work and a host of other things.
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
The whole piece is difficult to photograph, because the wall is long and there is car parking along the whole length. All the elements are interwoven with both artist’s work. The blue-green creatures are by Andy Council and the block geometric writing by Acer One.
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
The writing spells out ‘CHALLENGE CORRUPTION’ which is becoming something of an anthem in out country at the moment. This conservative administration is, more than any before it, pushing rather sinister boundaries, most of which appear to be about securing power, rather than serving the people… sound familiar? Their latest wheeze is to drive through legislation to make it easier to jail journalists who write exposés criticising government and who won’t disclose their leak sources. Oh dear.
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
I was able to study Acer One’s technique close up, and it is blindingly obvious really. He uses a trapezoid board, about a metre long and about 15 cm wide, with a handle in the middle, to act as a mask and measure for his letters, helping create the uniformity and sharp, straight lines of his writing. Finding out how he paints his letters has at last put to rest my curiosity.
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Andy Councils creature, stitched together in several places, is wrapped around the lettering and is made up of separate blocks which look like they could be connected to each other, a little bit like a child’s toy like LEGO. The colours are imperial and the entire collaboration is rather grand. These two have been smashing it this year and it is lovely that they have been rewarded with this long wall for Upfest 2021.
Many of this year’s Upfest pieces have been on large, premium walls, often over-painting previous masterpieces, but not all. There are a few standard sized boards at the Tobacco Factory car park that are the perfect size for graffiti writers. One such writer is Candie Bandita from London who specialises in script and lettering, particularly on shutters, and whose name is derived from a Commodore 64 game called Candy Bandit… not one I remember, but I was an Amstrad user addicted to Elite.
Candie Bandita, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021
The piece is a very special piece of writing in perfect colour matches with a superb metallic look to it achieved with clever use of white fills and shiny white stars. Setting it off perfectly is the neon pink Bandita glowing across the base of the piece. This is really accomplished graffiti writing and a privilege to see in Bristol. Shame that the Tobacco Factory café have elected to place a table right in front of the wall… keeping it real I suppose.
Beaver Electrical Ltd is a lucky business. Not only do they have their shop in Bedminster, but they also happen to have an end-of-row wall that has had an enormous SPZero76 mural on it for the last couple of years, and now, thanks to Upfest 75×75 they have a brand new mural from the same artist.
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
This new piece is an absolute beast and contains so many of the components that we would expect to see from an SPzero76 piece. Set in a stunning rural landscape, two lady bikers have stopped for a chat while in the background a robot advances. There is an element of a dystopian future about the piece, albeit not as horrific as some portrayals.
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
The attention to detail in this cartoonesque scene is astonishing, from the blades of grass through to the intricate engine parts of the motorcycles, let alone the two stunning figures. There are some nice touches too with his name displayed on the fuel tanks.
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Of course, no piece on this wall is complete without some frolicking beavers and SPZero76 has duly delivered down in the bottom right hand corner. The whole mural is a thing of incredible beauty and shows off the artist’s considerable talent. Brilliant. The picture below is his previous outstanding mural on this wall.
Upfest is the gift that just keeps on giving, and I cannot remember a time when so many high-quality pieces have been painted over such a sustained period. Given all the problems that the pandemic has thrown at us, I think the Upfest team have done an astonishingly brilliant job this year.
Snub 23, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
This superb piece by Snub 23 looks as if it has been lifted straight out of a comic book, it is quite remarkable. The artist has used the dimensions of the wall perfectly and has created a really interesting perspective with the curvature of the tunnel behind the main character.
Snub 23, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
The bright colours used for the hero of the piece contrast nicely with the grey scene and there is a sense of purpose about his stride. The whole thing reminds me of Dan Dare from the Eagle Annuals I used to read as a kid (they weren’t mine, they had belonged to my uncles when they were young). Amazing piece.
‘It’s okay not to be okay’ is a very contemporary message from Sprite for this year’s Upfest initiative. I think that it can only be a good thing when mental health messages are amplified through street art as it demonstrates that real progress is being made in this ‘Cinderella’ branch of medical healthcare.
Sprite, Stanley Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
The pink rabbit is a really rather lovely stencil by the Brighton-based artist whose intention is to make people smile and I think she has certainly succeeded with this piece. Her work is very scalable and perfect for bombing a town or city with great messages. It would be good to see more of her work in Bristol.
There is real craft and ability in the work of Emily Joy Rich, and her training and work as a graphic designer certainly come to the fore when you see her work. Her letters are so clean, tidy and sharp and her designer’s eye uses the space beautifully. I have only seen a handful of her pieces and like each one of them, she seems to be, in a way, upholding the art and craft of the sign-writer.
Emily Joy Rich, The Tabacco Factory, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
‘You are not alone’ reminds me of the Close Encounters tag line ‘We are not alone’ but the two have very different connotations. The hashtag #youarenotaloneart, seems to be a ‘thing’ and checking it out on Instagram highlights some beautifully written murals from across the world. This one is a corker from Emily Joy Rich and I particularly like the two-tone grey shading on the word ‘Alone’, which gives it loads of perspective and lifts the word out from the wall. Highly accomplished work and another triumph for Upfest 75×75.
Natural adventures 