This is something of a rarity, an unpublished piece by Laic217. All I can guess is that May/June 2017 must have been a very, very busy time on Natural Adventures, because I tend to prioritise Laic217 pieces, because he is one of my favourite artists in Bristol and I love to share his work.
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2017
This piece is typical of his work at that time, featuring some graffiti writing combined with a character. The character is a skull, of course, with a bucket hat, of course and some brickwork glasses… . In my view this is a really classy piece and is beautifully executed and it is with not a small amount of happiness that I am sharing it on Natural Adventures.
I am not entirely certain when this lovely Egyptian-style wheatpaste by qWeRT first appeared, and by the time I photographed it it was already looking a little weathered, but I think it was from a visit to Bristol in around November/December last year.
qWeRT, Moon Street, Bristol, December 2019
Our googly-eyed Friend has really gone to town in this one wearing a full Tutankhamen death mask and looking most splendid. As much as the artwork itself, I like the placing, in a disused window space so that it is framed really nicely. To be fair, it is a popular space for wheatpasters, but that is because it is exactly the right kind of spot. I think a qWeRT gallery might be in the wings.
I managed to get out yesterday and found a few new pieces around the place, and it would seem that with some social distancing rules being relaxed artists are beginning to slowly return to walls. In the meantime, I still have a few archive pieces lined up for publication, including this fine collaboration fron Dasco and Wiflywin.
Dasco, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
On the left is a nice piece of writing from Dasco. Confident and assured the fills are great and the stripy barcode effect on the 3D lettering has worked well in this instance, which is not always an easy thing to do. Set on an orange brick wall, the piece segues nicely into the wiflywin piece to the right.
Wiflywin, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
Wiflywin continues the writing using a similar colour palette and the barcoded 3D letter shading, but perhaps with just a little less confidence. I am not quite sure what the letters spell out, and I will have to get to know more about the artist.
Dasco and Wiflywin, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
On the right is a smashed up police car and I am uncertain whether one or the other or both artists painted it. Perhaps there was another artist involved, I am not sure, but I rather like it, and it works really well as a ‘character’ bookend to the graffiti writing. I’m not sure why I never posted this in November last year when I first photographed it.
UPDATE – On 30 May I met Wiflywin for the first time and asked him about this, he told me that he painted the police car… problem solved.
Even though I don’t know the artists (yes artists), I have posted this for two reasons. Firstly I love the composition and transition of blues and secondly because I discovered a piece I had never seen before while photographing the blue faces.
Unknown artist, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2019
The blue faces piece, although relatively simple in design has been beautifully executed, with each face in a slightly different shade nestling neatly with the one next to it. The eyes give each face a different expression. It looks like it has been signed LEF. Take a good look at the top left hand corner of the piece and you can see a little piece of installation art that has been overpainted…
Unknown artist, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2019
This is a piece which I assume had been in situ for some time, but which I had not noticed ever before. It is the kind of work that Will Coles might do, but it is not quite his style. Entitled mammal, it reveals bare breasts (something of a rarity in Bristol street art). I love this, and liked it even more for discovering it accidentally.
Two pieces for the price of one, but both artists unknown to me.
Doors 107 – even more archive street/graffiti art doors.
You know the drill. Even though I have been out and about a bit and have photographed quite a few doors lately, I haven’t yet had time to upload them on to my PC – so until such time as I get myself a little bit more organised, you might have top make do with yet another seelection of doors from my street art archive.
I am pleased to note that readers apppear to have enjoyed these galleries when I have posted them, which gives me the courage to continue with them when I need to.
These ones were photographed from September 2015 through to December 2016.
Rob Wass, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2015
The pictures above and below are the same wall painted for two different Upfest events.
Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016Unify, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016Stik, Grimsby Street, London, August 2016DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016Thierry Noir, Rivington Street, London, August 2016
So that just about wraps it up for another week, I hope you have enjoyed these doors. I hope I can back to some more contemporary photographs next week, we’ll just have to see how that goes.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you really ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
Not far from Brunel Way bridge along the river is a little brick wall ruin, which includes two sides of what was once a little utility building of some sort. It is curious that it was never demolished completely. The wall is a bit of a favourite with taggers, but occasionally it gets a little make over, like this one from Sirens.
Riverside, Sirens, Bristol, November 2019
I get it that Sirens is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I happen to really like his work, bringing a little window of hope and light into our lives. His framed works (a feature I really like) often incorporate large horizons and a meeting of the urban/industrial with rural landscapes, in this example, the intrusion is of wind generators. There is a good balance to the piece and Sirens loves working in corners to add an anamorphic touch. I really like this piece.
Often, the columns under Brunel Way are a bit scruffy, because they are painted over and over again but rarely buffed which means that sometimes pieces blend into one another or the eye is easily distracted. Fortunately that is not the case with this delightful piece by Tasha Bee from October last year.
Tasha Bee, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, October 2019
Two faces for the price of one in this lovely piece and superbly filled and decorated hair in the style we have come to associate with Tasha Bee. I love it that her work incorporates symbols and icons, in this case the peace sign and a yin yang symbol, adding to the mystery and otherness of her work. This is how to decorate a column!
Last year, Georgie had a few paste up sessions concentrated around the Dean Lane and Stokes Croft areas. This is a really nice Brexit piece and so simply sums up the divided nation along the lines of I’m ok with this and I’m not ok with this.
Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
I’m alright Jack plays on the disgusting appropriation of the Union Jack by the Brexiteers whose portrayal of remainers as unpatriotic was quite disgusting, but a very powerful narative that underpinned the whole debate. Only the future will tell us whether the experiment is a mistake or not and in any case, many of the problems will be masked by the imppacts of coronavirus, giving this Brexit government the perfect excuse to waffle their way out of uselessness.
I like Morny’s work. It is a unique style that has a child-like quality, but is actually a whole lot more sophisticated than that, for example in this piece the man’s haircut and sunglasses. This piece is bright and colourful and carries a Brexit message.
Morny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019
I think the reason I never published these pictures is because of the light distortion obscuring a part of the wall, but I never made it back in time to get any cleaner shots. The writing says:
I miss before Brexit when you has more dosh on your holibobs (holidays). Back when people agreed more.
Sentiments that I think a great many of us agree with, and indeed the pain is still far from over and will extend the heavy burden our country is shouldering due to coronavirus. A clasic double whammy. Both of these pressures have been appallingly handled by an utterly inept and cowardly government. I can’t wait to see the back of them and a new greener, healthier and more compassionate society where wealth is not regarded as the most important thing in our lives.
Back in October 2019 I remember seeing this piece from Panskaribas and being rather pleased about it, because it was the first I had seen for several months while the artist had been out of Bristol.
Panskaribas, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2019
It is a rather weird and wonderful piece which has taken me rather a long time to work out. I think it is a pair of trainers joined together by a single trousered leg… peculiar, yes, but oh so very Panskaribas. I think that since then he has painted a few more pieces about the place, but I have been very neglectful and I’m not sure I have posted any of them. I must rectify that.
