Falling through the cracks
victims of austerity;
my head hangs in shame.
by Scooj
- I sometimes struggle with the word victim, and the ‘victim culture’ that thrives during ‘shocks’ of all kinds. In this case I feel the word is valid.
Tag: Urban
Survivor
Forgotten gateway
to who knows where? neglected
and incongruous.
by Scooj
112. Millennium Parade
One of the unintended consequences of developing the Bristol harbourside has been the erection of hoardings in front of unrented retail spaces. Being Bristol, these would have been magnets for graffiti of all kinds. It would appear that the developers commissioned Cheo, a prolific local artist, to paint the hoardings to brighten up the area, and to prevent others from scrawling.
This four panel mural tells a story of a giant squid and pirates; a suitably nautical theme for Bristol.
People seem to take these murals for granted. Every time I go to Millennium Parade I watch, and I have never seen anyone stop to look at the art although I am sure they are conscious of it.
As always Cheo has plastered the panels with his trademark bees.
7/10
110. Hotwell Road
I have walked past this wonderful Dali portrait many times, but it was only today that I noticed the signature close to the ground. It is by Ben Slow, who has a background in fine art.
Ben Slow, Hotwell Road, Bristol
Since painting this piece in 2009, he has gone on to do some large portraits mainly in London, but also in other cities around the country. I am very fond of this piece.
8/10
Love me
You tell me these things
as if I need reminding;
I like to love me.
by Scooj
109. Hurle road.
I pass this mural every week on the way to my daughter’s piano lesson. Every time I see it, I say to my daughter “I must get a picture of that”. She groans, and has become very bored with me repeating myself.
Today I took the pictures. This commissioned piece appears on the side of a shop on the Whiteladies Road. A commission is probably the only way street art is going to make it into this area. It is by Andy Council, and I have posted a couple of his works previously from the Hotwell Road and Nelson street. You will see he has a very distinctive style.
His works often incorporate Bristol landmarks and here he has included the Clifton Suspension Bridge. This is very safe street art, but brightens up the area nonetheless.
6/10
108. Charles Street
Following on from yesterday’s post I thought I would add another piece by Aspire. This mural is tucked away off the main road at the southern end of Stokes Croft. This beautiful robin is in great company…is that marilyn in the yellow telephone box?
I have no idea who pasted the yellow phone box, I like it…it is quirky and it appears to have changed colour from red (as seen on streetview). I like the robin more though. I’m on a bit of an Aspire streak…maybe more next week.
7.5/10
Jazz quartet
Sounds echo around;
a great beat as feet shuffle
past from shop to shop.
bt Scooj
107. City Road
The pure joy of Bristol street art is that it is so incredibly varied; from the sanitised masterpieces to the illegal spraying. Fine art and burners sit side by side. For those interested in art Bristol is becoming a very large free-to-view canvass.
I have recently become aware of a number of pieces by Aspire, a Bristol-based artist who specialises in portraits of birds, using his spray paint to create pixelated images. More on this in a nice interview with the artist from the Our Autonomous Nature website. I like his work very much and will post more works from around the Stokes Croft area.
7/10
Mugger
Up on Brandon Hill
the lazy streetwise squirrels
mug folk for vittels.
by Scooj
Natural adventures 