Tag: Wheatpaste

1193. East Village, New York.

One of the things I was most hoping to see during my trip in October to New York was some wheatpastes by Phoebe New York, and I was not disappointed. There were plenty to find in the area around our hotel in Rivington Street.

Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017
Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017

I first came across her work at Upfest 2016, when I found two or three of her pasteups carefully placed in strategic positions along North Street. After that, I found some of her characters in London during my six month spell when I worked two days a week there. I have followed her on Instagram, and strongly recommend her original and quirky feed.

Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017
Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017

The two pieces shown here are the first of several that I found during our four-day excursion to the Big Apple. The first is on a plain white wall and picks out the little Phoebe perfectly – have a beautiful day.

Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017
Phoebe New York, East Village, New York, October 2017

The second pasteup is on an altogether different background with loads of flaking pieces of paper from previous wheatpastes and an interesting face for company. I love the placement of the piece, and especially love the dress. Perfect.

1157. The Bearpit (108)

Sometimes it’s a case of blink and you’ll miss it, and so it is with street art. This gorgeous wheatpaste by Lemak didn’t last too long in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit, but the subtle colours and dim lighting meant that it was easy to walk past without stopping to take a look. Big mistake…it is a real beauty from this talented artist, and pushes his experimental approach in a satisfying direction.

Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

The golden eagle is hand painted and pasted together in a collage effect, a technique that Lemak has used quite a lot recently and one that I admire. There is a lot to enjoy in this piece, and the hard work I know he puts in is all definitely worth it.

1122. Jamaica Street (13)

I wasn’t really looking for this tiny wheatpaste, and in fact must have walked past it many times before noticing it, but notice it I did and I am pleased to have done so. It is by the talented Beastie who seems to be at home with large or small murals or wheatpastes in equal measure.

Beastie, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2017
Beastie, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2017

This piece is opposite the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC) outdoor gallery in Jamaica Street. I think the paste up is of a great tit, but it is difficult to be sure in black and white. This is what I love about street art – it is out there, you simply need to go out and find it.

1119. The Bearpit (105)

This is the second of two wonderful pieces by Christian Hooker in The Bearpit which add a breath of fresh air to the place. It is a poster-sized paste up, with the same basic Trump design as the other piece I posted but the adornments are different.

Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

There is something about this, the image, the colours and the subversive nature of the whole that I really like. As I said in my last post, it is a pity I didn’t see any of his work in New York. Maybe next time.

Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

1105. The Bearpit (103)

Without doubt, this is one of my favourite pieces of recent weeks. Bright and garish, I first saw this when driving around The Bearpit roundabout, and made a mental note to take a closer look next time I walked into work. Fortunately this large wheatpaste was still there, and I was able to look at it more carefully and find out who it was by.

Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

The artist is Christian Hooker who judging from his Instagram account handle is from New York (@nychooker). Quite what he was doing here I don’t know but I am really pleased that he visited the city and even more pleased that he left us a couple of gifts.

Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017
Christian Hooker, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017

The pasteup itself is mocking Trump (I guess) and he posted it on Instagram under the heading ‘subvertising’ which is a term new to me, but I really rather like it. It is, a little like Lemak’s work, a stencil piece that has been printed off and pasted up. I simply love it. Having just visited NYC, I was a little disappointed not to see any of his work. Maybe next time.

1101. The Bearpit (101)

On Friday 28 July, the day before Upfest, I strolled to work via The Bearpit, which I like to do as often as I can. Clearly one of the Wheatpasters who regularly visit Bristol for Upfest, Losthills, had been hard at work, and this was the first of many of his pieces that I saw this year.

Losthills, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017
Losthills, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2017

It is a cheeky little paste up (which of his isn’t a little cheeky?) of Jake the Dog, living the dream as an Empire soldier from the Star Wars films. The piece is full of humour and is a cheerful thing to see on my pedestrian commute to work.

1061. Upfest 2017 (73)

More mischief from Jake the Dog and his master costume designer Losthills at Upfest this year. In the first picture we see Jake as a late 1970s punk, complete with colourful mohican haircut, chain and earring, holding an anarchy badge.

Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

In the second picture, which was taken in the back yard of The Steamcrane pub, Jake is dressed as some kind of robot with a heart. This is probably influenced by a film or something, but I am not too sure. All good fun though. Plenty more to come.

Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Losthills, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

1053. The Bearpit (94)

I am really enjoying the direction that Lemak is taking his work in at the moment, and even better, he is pasting up his fragmented stencils in The Bearpit. I am not sure exactly how he produces these works, but I think they start with stencil work followed by a printing process before finally being pasted up.

Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, September 2017
Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, September 2017

This particular magnificent piece can be found on one of the staircases leading down into The Bearpit from the northern side. It is a sophisticated portrait of a girl wearing a native North American headdress, part in sepia and part in colour. The segments are arranged on the wall, and our brain fills in the gaps so that we see the full piece when we look at it.

Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, September 2017
Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, September 2017

I cannot really express how much I like this piece and the original art Lemak is turning out at the moment. Well worth a trip to The Bearpit.

1031. Upfest 2017 (59)

Another set of three paste ups from the prolific Jimzina at Upfest this year. The first was the largest I saw and was A2 size roughly. The girl in glasses, clutching a ring doughnut can still be found on North Street just by the hoardings near the Standard.

Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

All of Jimzina’s pieces carried the same theme, a young lady presented on the front of a menu or drinks list – very distinctive. The next one looks rather different to most of them, in that the girl doesn’t have black hair, instead she is wearing a pink flower to go with her pink lips.

Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The final one of these three looks a bit like what I would call ‘saucy-sophisticated’. Is that too much of a label seen through the lens of a middle-aged man?

More from this wheatpaster to come.

 

Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

988. The Bearpit (87)

On the north steps dropping down into The Bearpit there is this wonderful new piece from Lemak. It is a wheatpaste of a complex multi-layered stencil. I love the original work Lemak is producing at the moment, confining partial images within geometric shapes, with much of the image hidden beyond the confines of the boundaries, leaving much to the imagination.

Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2017
Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2017

It is a piece that is in a similar vein to the one he produced for Upfest this year (to follow). I am sure that many busy pedestrians miss this, as they trundle into The Bearpit buried in their thoughts or mobile phones. It is a little bit camouflaged by all the scrawls and tags around it, and only seems to jump out at you once you have spotted it.

Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2017
Lemak, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2017

Another fine piece from the brilliant Lemak.