Tag: Urban

1770. The Bearpit (162)

The conscience of our city is given a voice or at least a ‘visual voice’ via the prolific and passionate work of activist Object… . Without doubt, Object…’s work is moving, angry and political in equal measure and his ‘tortured’ figures represent pain and suffering of others.

Object...,The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2018
Object…,The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2018

In this piece the figures are in conversation with one or both saying ‘or you could handle it with some compassion‘. I’m not too sure to what this refers, but I think the message could be read on several levels, from the personal to local to national or even global level. We are living through hard times and compassion is taking a real beating. I’m sure these lurches to the right will come to an end, but for the time being we must endure them and push back wherever possible.

1769. Brunel Way bridge (10)

Alongside a rather magnificent Sled One piece i posted a little while back is this really unusual work from Ments. I haven’t seen much of his work for a while, so it was great to find this. In the past I have described his work as ‘organic’ in its form, but this piece represents quite a departure from his previous work.

Ments, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018
Ments, Brunel Way Bridge, Bristol, September 2018

There is a modernist feel to this piece, abstract surrealism almost and I rather like it. The writing spells out MENTS as it does in most of his work, but this time it is a little more legible. The colour selections are quite unusual but seem to work pretty well on this bright red background. More to come soon from Ments.

1768. Fairlawn Road (1)

Ubiquitous is one of the words I would use to describe the work of Tasha Bee. It doesn’t seem to matter where I wonder, I end up finding some of her work. This piece I found while taking the dog on a long walk around Montpelier – I wasn’t even hunting it down.

Tasha Bee, Fairlawn Road, Bristol, September 2018
Tasha Bee, Fairlawn Road, Bristol, September 2018

Tasha Bee I think also wears the crown at the moment for being the most prolific artist in Bristol, giving Laic217 and Nevergiveup and Facef1st a run for their money. I have said before how much I love the serenity of her faces, and am enjoying more and more the fills she is using for the hair. Great work.

1767. M32 roundabout J3 (97)

It seems to me that most street artists have peaks and troughs in the frequency of street work they do. Life, as for each and every one of us, gets in the way. It might be work, family, illness, lack of inspiration or other external forces that put a slow down on wall work.

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2018
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2018

On the flip side though there will be times when the green light is on and artists hit the street with sometimes alarming regularity. It feels to me that Smak at the moment is going through one of those phases where I am seeing a lot of his work, and this one at the M32 is a real beauty.

I find I encounter the same peaks and troughs, and at the moment I am really struggling to photograph as much as I like. Frail in-laws and very busy times at work are conspiring to hold me back from what I most enjoy. I know however that things in time will improve and I have so much to look forward to. Somehow I also have to factor in learning how to spray.

1766. Upfest 2018 (60)

There were a few wheatpasters at Upfest this year that were completely new to me, including Mini Gabi who created this fun piece, I think on North Street. Having done just a little bit of research on Mini Gabi, she certainly seems to be well established and has an excellent website and biography that you can find here.

Mini Gabi, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Mini Gabi, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I like the Sex Pistols reference with a soft take on it with the words ‘I just want to be me’. There are some similarities with Phoebe New York, not so much in style, but more in creating a fictional character to be pasted about the place. Another similarity is in the inclusion of contemporary quotes or short phrases. The artist is actually called Gabi Almeida, but for this blog I shall be calling her Mini Gabi, because it makes sense to me. There might be more of these to follow.

1765. Upfest 2018 (59)

This was not the main piece by Si2 (Hull Graffiti) at Upfest this year, but a lovely gift to leave behind. Si2’s wheelie bins can be found all over the place, generally wherever the artist has been. To get a utility box thrown in for good measure is an extra treat.

Hull Graffiti, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Hull Graffiti, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Si2 has a great knack for creating deep shadows on his monster faces that give them a texture and almost 3D feel to them. The strong prime colours might also help them to stand out. You would have a heart of stone not to raise at least a small smirk on seeing these creations.

Hull Graffiti, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Hull Graffiti, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I was not 100 percent convinced my his official piece this yer, but will need to take anothert look before writing a post about it. These are however, delightful.

1764. Upfest 2018 (58)

Some readers will know that Dice 67 is one of my favourite artists and that I have been really enjoying his transition from stencil artist to freehand and from practitioner to festival organiser – an inspirational artist and one I was fortunate enough to interview in this post published in July last year.

Dice 67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Dice 67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This striking piece features American teenager Alyssa Carson who is working towards being one of the first astronauts to journey to Mars some time in the 2030s. I have watched a couple of videos of her, and her youthful ambition is inspiring.

Dice 67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Dice 67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Dice 67 is creating some outstanding work and this piece is probably my favourite freehand work to date. The proportions on the board work well and the feeling of space to the left of Alyssa is cleverly done. I love the quote…

“Always follow your dream and don’t let anyone take it away from you”

…oh to be young again.

1763. Upfest 2018 (57)

The candle has blown out on the European project for the UK and this wonderful piece by Christian Boehmer (Böhmer) a German artist whose work I first saw at Upfest last year and have tracked on Instagram ever since. His trademark is that all the people in his works have paper bags over their heads to play with the idea of anonymity.

Christian Boehmer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Christian Boehmer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I still find our national vote to leave Europe deeply embarrassing and depressing and can’t believe what a pig’s ear we are making of it. The ‘Britain first’ narrative does not chime for me. It stinks of arrogance and intolerance – behaviours I and many others dislike. This piece I find quite a poignant reminder of our collective folly.

Christian Boehmer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Christian Boehmer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I do like Christian Boehmer’s work and was pleased to have seen his return to Upfest. I rather hope he comes again next year and that I get a chance to meet him.

 

 

1762. Upfest 2018 (56)

One of the more unusual pieces at Upfest 2018 was this absolutely wonderful tile installation on the gates of the Tobacco Factory by Chinagirl Tile. As the years go by, her work becomes more and more ambitious, and this ceramic Giraffe is certainly the largest work I have seen from this Austrian (international) artist.

Chinagirl Tile, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Chinagirl Tile, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

The incredible giraffe is entitled ‘it’s a zoo up there’ was funded by the Austrian Cultural Forum London and BMEIA, and that got me thinking that her work must be rather expensive to produce and that funding and sponsorship must be an important factor in her ability to work. spray can artists probably don’t have the same kind of overheads.

Chinagirl Tile, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Chinagirl Tile, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Unfortunately I don’t think I have been able to do this piece justice, mainly because when I took the pictures, the sun was directly behind it. I think this is a wall that needs photographing early in the morning or in the evening. If you look closely, you can see the individual tile sections that are placed together to make the whole. I guess this is for ease of modelling and firing as well as transportation.

Another unusual feature of this piece is that the head of the giraffe is 3 dimensional, not a flat tile that one expects from Chinagirl Tile. I really love her work and am proud that she has chosen Bristol to play host to several of her pieces over recent years.

1761. Upfest 2018 (55)

At last year’s Upfest, one of the most distinct cartoon pieces was by the brilliant Kid30, and this year he has followed up with this rather gory, but equally excellent piece. His work is so very crisp and clean and the shadows work well to lift the characters up from the background.

Kid 30, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Kid 30, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I think Kid30 has a bit of a thing for stitching, and his characters and often stitched in a bit of as Frankenstein monster way. I guess it is probably better not to delve too deeply into the artist’s mind to understand what is underlying here, rather just to sit back and admire his talent.

Kid 30, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Kid 30, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

The speech bubble is rather fun too, which brings me to a question which is why is it always blah, blah, blah and not Blah or Blah, Blah or even blah, blah, blah blah? The symmetry of three.

Kid 30, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Kid 30, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017