7283. Stokes Croft

Wilko and Boxi, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2025
Wilko and Boxi, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2025

More wheatpaste action from Wilko and Boxi, in advance of their upcoming exhibition. I have a feeling that it was Wilko who has been busy pasting these up around Bristol on behalf of both of them.

Wilko and Boxi, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2025
Wilko and Boxi, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2025

Regular readers will know that I am rather partial to wheatpastes, as they bring a completely different aspect to the spectrum of street art that we see around us. Some people don’t like them, because they become scruffy when they decay or because they get pasted up in inappropriate places, or because they are against street art more broadly. Funny how such people appear to be totally at ease with the plethora of advertising we are subjected to on the streets, as if it is somehow more legitimate and less offensive…

These are nice representatives of their artistic styles with draw on many influences.

7262. Cheltenham Road

Wilko and Boxi, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2025
Wilko and Boxi, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2025

Wilko (Sgt Wilko) who hails from Birmingham has recently been rather busy in Bristol pasting up his designs all over the city, particularly in the Bedminster area, in advance of an exhibition of his work at That Art Gallery at the top of Christmas Steps from 18-23 November, with fellow wheatpaster Boxi. While I have seen Wilko’s work before (the first, middle and last pieces on this shopfront in Cheltenham Road) This is the first time, I think, that I have seen anything by Boxi (second and fourth pieces).

Wilko and Boxi, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2025
Wilko and Boxi, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2025

Both artists appear to take some inspiration from African art, and other influences such as cubism. There is a lot more to wheatpastes than simply sticking up posters. There is the original composition, the cut-out and equally importantly the positioning of the pieces, both in terms of the location and arrangement. Wilko and Boxi have set up a nice little gallery in this instance. Their wheatpasting is not to everyone’s taste, and they have caused a bit of a stir in East Street, where some of the shop owners whose shops have been targeted are less than happy. The ‘edge’ of street art.

6920. Stokes Croft

Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025
Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

It isn’t all that long ago that I wrote about how Bristol, although it has a super-vibrant street art scene, is less well represented on the wheatpaste side of things. Of course, when you say something like that, life has a way of proving you wrong, and I have since found a whole bunch of wheatpastes, many of them by Wilko in the Stokes Croft area.

Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025
Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

I haven’t come across Wilko before, but I have a feeling he might be from Birmingham. He certainly made the most of his visit to Bristol, and I will try to post more of his wonderful illustrations in due course. This orange and black piece has a feel of African-influenced art and cubism (which of course are related) about it. Great to see.