Bristol Bearpit

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Mary C

The Bearpit is a park in Bristol, circular in shape and with roads surrounding it; It’s like being in the middle of a large roundabout and in fact it is the St. James Barton Roundabout. All entrances are by underground passage.

It is in an area that is the historical center of the city. After being badly damaged by aerial bombing raids during WW2 , not much was done with it until the late 1960s when new roads and office blocks were built. The bearpit was designed as a pedestrian friendly area, a city park but soon became a place where no one felt safe. In 2011 it was voted the worst place in Bristol . Over the years a number of groups tried to clean up the park and make it a welcoming place for people – with mixed success.

In May of 2017 when I was there it was a place to hang out. It was also a place for political protest.

tables and planters at Bristol bearpit, park, with a mural of flowers. In the background a sign, political poster, and in he background, Debenhams store — VOTE – “It ain’t much, but it’s all we have against the Greedheads” Hunter S. Thomson

May 2017 was in the midst of campaigning for the the UK General Election of 8 June 2017. Theresa May (Conservative) was Prime Minister. May had became PM after David Cameron resigned because of the Brexit vote. Jeremy Corbyn was leader of the Labour Party. The Conservatives won the election with 317 seats although Labour was close behind. Like most elections, this one can’t be summarized in a few sentences but if you are interested in more details, there are lots of places to look on the internet.

below: A large Corbyn rat poster by political art John D’Oh with the slogan/phrase “Make June the end of May”.

large poster by John D'Oh political humour for the 2017 UK election

political poster save the NHS vote Labour, picture of a woman on the phone, by John D'oh

In paradoy of newspaper Daily Mail, text on graffiti says Daily Fail, with three stencil faces

below: Mural by SP_ZERO aka Keith Hopewell

graffiti of face of young girl with braids tied with ribbons, and wearing a red bandana mask over her nose and mouth, on a green tile wall beside stairs

government is theft graffiti

street art by a tree in the bearpit area of Bristol, a person in a grey hoodie is spray painting a black line, beside a stencil of a man with long beard and mustache that says beard envy

graffiti on a tile wall beside stairs, an electrical two pronged plug with little legs, running, with broken electrical cord as a tail

A group of young men sitting on benches in a park, with a street art wall behind them, space aliens and creatures

street art wall with imaginative and creative space aliens and creatures

below: Mural by LAIC217

Where’s the toilet paper? Is there any significance to the Adidas clothing and shoes?

Mural with orange headed devil with horns, yellow eyes, and skull like face, with bony hnads on shoulder of graffiti artist, caption says For using stencils you will go to hell — For using stencils U will go to Hell.

below: While we’re on the subject of Hell, a poster playing on the word exposure by Georgie aka georgieartist. I love the fact that someone has written “Story of my fucking life” on it.

below: A broom with heart by qwert art

whimsical graffiti by qwert art of a broom with a white skirt and long skinny arms holding up a red heart where a face would be

below: Mural by Kid Crayon of Eat Crew. Just above the mural you can see part of the black and white bear sculpture/statue that used to stand in the park.

In 2019 the Bearpit was “cleaned up” i.e. all the graffiti and street art was removed as were the squatters. A quick check of the area on Google Street View shows that as of March 2021 the park was still graffiti free.

sprayed on the sidewalks of LA

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Mary C

As you walk around the Arts District in Los Angeles, watch where your feet are going.
You’ll see many stencils that have been spray painted underfoot.

This first one, women in head scarves, is obviously a political statement.
It was also the only stencil that was in two colours.

below: Dangerous insects, with scoped rifles for wings.

below: … and a dragonfly too. Weaponized terrorist bugs.
No wait, they’re Homeland Security agents in disguise.

below: No money, No honey.

below: Social media is selling your shit. Apparently there is a third one that says “Seeking your applause, your digital mirage” but I didn’t see it.

below: A red extremist. Love extremists.

below: A dove with a rose in its beak, La Rosa

below: I am fairly certain that the word says iagily but I haven’t been able to find any info online.

below: Got love?

below: I have always seen you. That’s the chorus/refrain from the song ‘Harriet’ by American Appetites. There may be other references?

below: Campbells soup made of vegans? or for vegans?

below: The last one is not actually a stencil but I couldn’t resist including it here.

Photos taken February 7, 2017

little things in Bologna

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Mary C

Bologna Italy, March 2016

pasteup on a salmon coloured door with a green wall on one side and a grey metal shutter on the other. The pasteup is of two women, one is upside down.

below: Sneakers by K2m

street art paste up of white high top rinning shoes with K2m written on the side in large red letters. The shoes are covered with what looks like drawings of yarn and balls of yarn

bluish grey graffiti paingint on a wall of a child (head and shoulders) wearing a leopard costume, but with the mask lifted up so child's face shows, on a door

graffiti on an old stone building with burgundy coloured window shades, blue tag, other words written on the wall include

black stencil of Robin Williams on a wall, graffiti

paste up of yellow crown on a young man's head. The graffiti has been placed above a metal feature on a concrete wall so the eyes look like they are peering over it. Someone has written the words Casa Lucio with an arrow pointing upwards above the crown.

black stencil of a woman's head in profile, long hair, wearing a hat, words coming out of her mouth, shape of words is a megaphone. Words say " Chi si loda s'imbroda"

black stencil of the pope's head and shoulders on a brown wood wall. The words "dici a me" are stenciled on too.

paste-up of a man's head and neck, with a red outline painted around his head. glasses and a beard.

stencil in black on a concrete wall that is not in good shape, a man, from the waist up wearing a black jacket and a necklace. One hand is raised to shoulder level, showing palm. Over one shoulder are two red lip marks

a grey tone graffiti on a pinkish wall, a small furry animal with a fez on its head and eyes that resemble nuclear symbols, sits atop a man's head. he has two sets of eyes and a large mouth with teeth

a paste up of a person with short black hair, a blue hat and blue eyes, holding a black cat. On the person's arm, written in blue are the words "Pieces were stolen from me"

a paste up with slightly curled edges, graffiti on a concrete wall, a black picture of a man like creature with stylized features is pointing a large knife at its chest.
black drawing on white, paper paste up street art, man's head and neck in profile, no skin, shows the muscles of the face and neck. with part of the skull removed to reveal the brain. By SNEM
A silhouette shape of a rabbit's head and ears made of paper that has fern leaves on it. Pasted on a metal piece on a wall.

below: Two pieces by kocore

a street art piece in orange by kocore of the head of a Soviet cosmonaut with his helmet on.

street art piece of a skull made up of lots of grey lines The word Kocore is beside the skull

stencil of a woman sticking out the top of a long limo, black on concrete.

below: Make peace or dead, by exitenter

Small painting of a stick figure with its hands on its hips. Its face is a flower, looks like a red daisy with 6 petals. The words " make peace or dead are written above

graffiti on a beige wall, a stick drawing of a person stands on the upper right part of a red heart. The word exit is written above the left side of the heart

below: The fox and the grapes, by exitenter, probably a reference to Aesops fable. When the fox couldn’t reach the grapes, it pretended that the grapes were sour. The “lesson” from the fable being that there are many people who pretend to despise and belittle things that are beyond their reach. graffiti on a concrete wall, an orange fox reaches for a bunch of yellow grapes that are higher on the wall

black stencil on grey concrete wall, man reaching out from inside a TV to turn the TV off, by Skene Two small stencils on a wall, a green hand grenade and a black handgun,