Tag: Upfest

2047. Upfest 2016 (165)

Yet another notable omission from my Upfest 2016 posts is this extraordinary piece by Manchester’s brilliant duo, Nomad Clan. It looks a little bit like a dystopian future piece and bristles with menace and potential violence.

Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This would have been the first time I saw these two painting or indeed was conscious of their work, although at the time I was not conscious of their work…if that makes sense. It is amazing to think what a successful few years they have had.

Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The piece is sprayed on the fake train carriage that is rolled out at Upfest each year, which is a nice touch from the organisers. The only downside to it is that it is surrounded by fences, presumably to stop people from sitting on the ledge and getting in the way of the artists.

Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This is a great looking piece with loads of attitude and a bit of as story gong on in.

2046. Upfest 2016 (164)

A rare treat indeed, getting to see John D’oh in action at Upfest 2016 finishing off his five piece stencil. How on earth can this have languished in my archive for so long? I just don’t understand it. It is great to use this trawl to share it with you now.

John D'oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The theme of the piece is getting connected, or at least that is how it comes across. John D’oh tells us in his recent book that the piece features friends of his to whom he pitched the idea of them talking into cans with the string between them spelling out his name. It seems to have worked out well.

John D'oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The way that John D’oh frames these pieces makes them look a little bit like a cheesy girl’s comic from the 1970s, like Jackie (I only know this because my sister had a subscription). Kevin Bacon I think is included because of his links to the EE advertising campaign which has been running for a few years now.

John D'oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Rounding things off is a sublime stencil of the wonderful Jeff Knight, my local Big Issue seller. An all round excellent Upfest piece.

2045. Upfest 2016 (163)

When I saw this back in 2016 I was still at the early stages of learning about the street art scene in Bristol (in fact I am still learning every day) and I knew little about the RAW crew and the artists constituting it. While it is obvious that the character on the right is by Jaksta (the medallion gives this away) the writing is less obvious.

Jaksta and Ware?, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jaksta and Ware?, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It looks like the letters say WARE to me, but here I am showing my ignorance because I don’t know the artist at all. The writing is beautifully executed and I love the musical notes sitting on the midway line on the blue letters. A really nice piece of street art for the festival.

2044. Upfest 2016 (162)

Going back through my pictures from Upfest 2016 I am left a little puzzled by some of the pieces that I failed to post. This work by Diff looks rather like a studio study as much as it does a piece of street art. A silhouetted woman wearing a bowler hat surrounded by pink yellow and white bubbles.

Diff, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Diff, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Although not necessarily one of Diff’s best pieces, there is an air of grace about it and some care and attention to detail has gone in to the bubbles, especially where they overlap.

2043. Upfest 2016 (161)

The big news for 2019 is that there will be no Upfest this year, the organisers have decided to have a fallow year to regroup and hit 2020 with renewed vigour. What this means is that I might be able to catch up a little on Upfest pieces passim that still need writing up. I am starting this batch of 2016 pieces with work from, I think, Douglas Trodge.

Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I have looked all over the Interweb, but I cannot find a Douglas Trodge, so am unable to write anything further of any use here. The two cartoon portraits are rather unusual and certainly memorable… way too good to sit in my archive forever.

Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I might have to do a little more research on this piece.

 

1994. Upfest 2018 (130)

You can always be sure that you’re going to get something pretty fun from Angus, and at Upfest 2018 he was playing around with a fusion of mosaics incorporating film/TV characters in a Banksy setting. Clever and engaging stuff.

Angus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Angus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

In this piece, which must have taken days of preparation, Angus presents us with robots (in the place of chimps) from Star Wars, Futurama, Wall-E and one other that I can’t identify and the immortal words ‘laugh now but one day we’ll be in charge’. I rather hope that Banksy approves of this updated variant on his idea…another one made in Bristol.

Angus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Angus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

In terms of scale, Bender, the Futurama robot on the right was about human size – this mosaic was no small undertaking, and this was just one of three (or more?) that Angus worked on at Upfest. Hats off to his lateral thinking and endeavour…a great piece.

1993. Upfest 2018 (129)

Well this is an absolutely extraordinary and highly unusual portrait piece by Bristol-based artist Lee Ellis. I have not seen any of his work before, but that is because I think he is primarily a studio artist and not a street artist.

Lee Ellis, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Lee Ellis, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I took a look at his work on the Interweb and he has this incredible style that has a touch of menace and darkness about it, but also manages to convey emotions and passion in the subjects. It would be interesting to see what he could do with a proper outdoors wall. Striking work.

1992. Upfest 2018 (128)

On yet another completely new wall for Upfest 2018 was this slightly unusual abstract piece from Rob Wass. You had to keep your eyes peeled for this one due to its location down a side street on the main drag between North Street and Ashton Gate.

Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

As yet my mind isn’t fully made up on this one and I really can’t put my finger on my reservation. I think it might have more to do with the aspect of the wall and the pebble dash finish (which must be a nightmare for painters), than it does to do with the piece itself.

Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Over the years, Rob Wass has produced some lovely pieces for Upfest and he has become a firm favourite. I imagine that this one will remain in place for a while because of its accessibility.

Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Rob Wass, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

1991. Upfest 2018 (127)

Always, always a firm favourite with me are the pop culture stencils by Stephen Quick, a brilliant Bristol artist and Upfest regular. This piece ‘Can stand up, will stand up’ is one of a series of similar pieces that he has created with this character.

Stephen Quick, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Stephen Quick, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

There are several cultural references in the piece, which include the obvious homage to Star Wars, but also there is the sword of He Man and the bracelet (not in this picture) of Wonder Woman. His style is unique and vibrant, and I always look  forward to a quick annual catch up at Upfest.

1990. Upfest 2018 (126)

One of the more obviously striking and describable pieces of Upfest 2018 was this interesting hand speaker by Agent Provocateur. It is weird but whenever I look at it I find it very hard not to see the Northern Ireland flag, which is rather distracting.

Agent Provocateur, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Agent Provocateur, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This is a simple and quite challenging piece with an element of edge or threat combined with humour and general oddness. I’m not sure why there is so much damage to the right hand side board, but I think the artist could have tidied it up a little bit. Maybe I photographed it before completion. A memorable piece.