Tag: Urban

347. Upfest 2016 (6)

RIP seemed to have a lot of fun during Upfest this year. His works were not only confined to The Rising Sun (his designated temporary ‘canvass’) but also to the streets and hoardings of North Street.

RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

The dodo was very low down on a hoarding passageway. Who can resist a dodo eh? There is a lovely Stewy dodo in Leonard Lane…one of my earliest posts. The pun here links to the rather annoying, but very popular Wham! song of the ’80s.

RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

The philosophical chimp is another winner for me. I really like RIP’s work. It is fast, edgy, raw, humerous and keeps the streets alive for those of us who like to look, see and discover.

RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

Dog sitting

One happy daughter;

new sounds and interesting

smells pervade my home.

 

by Scooj

346. Upfest 2016 (5)

At this year’s Upfest I have been struck by how many female street artists there are, which is really great, because I think there is a perception that most street artists tend to be male. Well, there was a great mix of gender, nationality and style, and perhaps Danielle Clough, who comes from South Africa and works with thick bright embroidery thread most embodies this extraordinary diversity.

Danielle Clough, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Danielle Clough, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Danielle was working hard in the hot sun on Saturday creating this magnificent piece, and continued her work through Sunday in the slightly cooler and at times wetter weather. The outcome is absolutely beautiful, and I hope it will be there for some time to come.

Danielle Clough, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Danielle Clough, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I believe this work by Danielle is the first time I have posted work by a known ‘yarn bomber’, but it certainly will not be the last. Refreshing and beautiful.

City food

 

Wonderful smells drift

in and out of the street stalls

selling World cuisine.

 

by Scooj

345. Upfest 2016 (4)

I was really taken by this fantastic work by Belgian artist Din Din who describes herself as a ‘one woman artistic movement’.

Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

On Saturday afternoon, when I watched her working, she was putting down the stencil at the bottom of the piece. I noticed that she used plastic stencils and asked her if she used them because they were stronger (seemed sensible to me), but she answered that with the plastic stencils you can work in the rain…so she came well prepared for a festival in Britain then!

Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

On her website it looks very much like she did two other stencils in the area during her visit to Bristol, so I will have to hunt these down.

Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

There is something about the piece that reminds me a little of Tian’s works that he pasted up around Stokes Croft during his ‘tour’ earlier in the year – photographic works with monochrome tones.

Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

A wonderful piece to see and to get a glimpse of the artist at work.

Son

 

He will not know the

sadness I feel as I hug

him and wave goodbye.

 

by Scooj

344. Upfest 2016 (3)

One of the first pieces I saw that had already been completed by the time I arived on Saturday, was this fine and controversial work by Pegasus.

Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It is highly accomplished stencil work that one expects from Pegasus and the content of his work is often edgy and possibly uncomfortable for some. I imagine that any work representing Mother Teresa (a Saint) is going to be tricky.

Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I love this piece. It is quite shocking and at the same time so beautifully put together. I think this might be his first visit since his Trump/Hitler conflation in Greville Road, back in April 2016…another controversial one.

343. Upfest 2016 (2)

I still haven’t worked out how I am going to present all of the works that I captured and admired during Upfest over the last few days, but I have to get cracking because there is so much wonderful stuff to share.

Angus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Angus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This post has four works produced by Bristol street artist Angus over the duration of the weekend. It was a pity that I didn’t get to meet Angus, it just seemed that we were in different places at different times. I’m sure we will catch up soon. The first image is his ‘showcase’ piece that was on his designated board and is quite stunning.

Another couple of pieces sit either side of a large wall by Inkie (coming soon) at the Southbank Club on Dean Lane. On the left is a great face in reds and blacks…

Angus, Dean Lane, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Angus, Dean Lane, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

…and on the right is a door that says it all really.

Angus, Dean Lane, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Angus, Dean Lane, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

His fourth piece was in one of his favourite spots on Raleigh Road, where this recent work which I wrote about, resided.

Angus, Raleigh Road , Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Angus, Raleigh Road , Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I like this work a lot, with Muttley from Whacky Races, a message that he has been working with for a while, and some great colours and design. His work just gets better and better.

 

 

Camp

 

House is strewn with clothes

and kit that will never fit

into the backpack.

 

by Scooj

342. Upfest 2016 (1)

What a busy couple of days it has been – a lot of walking and looking at hundreds of new pieces in South Bristol. Many of the works created are temporary and will be removed after the festival, some have been allocated prime sites and will remain for at least a year, others have been surreptitiously slapped up in interesting places and will have variable lifespans.

Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

I will start my posts of Upfest with some wonderful pasteups by Phoebe New York (aka artist Libby Schoettle). I was especially pleased to see her work here in Bristol as I have only recently become aware of her and how brilliantly refreshing she is. A simple idea really well executed.

Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

I particularly like the edge of her work, both in the content and statements, but also in the locations she chooses. I am a fan, and I expect there are more than just these two examples from Upfest in Bristol. I will be hunting for more.

Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

Upfest is a truly spectacular festival and I feel honoured as an adopted Bristolian that people have come from all over the world to participate over the last two days. There is still one more day to go, but it is a working day and I suspect things will be a lot quieter. I have no idea how I am going to post all the amazinf things I have seen this weekend – I’ll just have to see how it goes.