This is a post that I've had ready to publish awhile ago, and I thought that I should do it before I head off to Britsol again this summer. I visited Bristol a couple of summers ago to see an art and sculpture trail. I had previously seen some of the street art in Bristol as I used to live in Bath and work near Bristol, so Bristol is no stranger to me. However, I'd never properly photographed and documented the street art that I saw when I used to visit there more often that I do now. There's no better way to introduce the Bristol street art scene than to publish some work by Banksy, arguably the most famous street or grafitti artists in the world. Back in 2009, I went to his exhibition held in Bristol, and you can see photographs and a write-up from it here: Banksy Exhibit - Grafitti Art. I'd just moved back to Hampshire about 1.5 years prior to this exhibit, and the queues were quite long; I think I had waited three hours in the queue before I was able to enter.
This famous piece (above) is on a high-profile wall on a busy street, and it's not fared well lately with damage. It's a pity to see such an iconic piece of art destroyed.
Of course, Bristol is now one of the top street art destinations of the world. Each year, a street art event "Upfest" is held, and new pieces of street art appear continuously. Bristol has always had a strong art community. A collection of some of the pieces is below, but I am not sure who painted many of the murals. I captured some of these around Bedminster.
Semtitic Servants painted the mural below, and it was a collaboration with other street artists, including Cheo.
I was happy to see some work of artists that I recognised in Bristol. Sweet Toof painted outside the pub called "The Looking Glass", and Cheo painted some with his signature characters as well. I am unsure who the other artists are.
Dan Kitchener is an artist that I recognised from London, and you can see some more of his work here. I've seen the below image in some of his previous artwork in London.
Nick Walker painted "The Coat of Arms" mural on a wall below.
I spotted new pieces throughout Bristol.
This year, I will be visiting Bristol again, and I'll be posting some photographs from new work produced at the famous street art event, "Upfest", so keep checking back!
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