The Short Guide to 'Banksy vs Bristol Museum'

By less than popular demand, shell shock (a train spotter and admin monkey at the Banksy group on flickr, and author of ’Banksy Location & Tours’) trawled 2,000+ photos, poured over a hotch potch of info, asked people stupid questions, and drove many miles to the Museum, just to bring you this short guide to the greatest exhibition of all time (well, maybe....the art jury is drunk and is utterly incapable of anything, including a verdict)


What is in the Exhibition?

The exhibition is officially ginormous. Easily Banksy’s biggest exhibition ever.

Apparently it contains 100 artefacts, of which 78 of them are new.

Although there are several whole rooms dedicated just to Banksy‘s work, there are also bits of his work dotted all around the various rooms of the Museum / Gallery. The guide below tries to round them all up.

People have already noticed that some exhibits seem to have moved over time (or possibly even turned up late for the bash...?), so please don't think we are totally mad if something isn't there, has moved, is wrong, makes you looks stupid, causes an argument with your partner, etc

NOTE - the names I've given them aren't necessarily 'official', correct or sensible. Some may be funny, but it can't be guaranteed. I’m not paid [in peanuts] to make you laugh you know......

There is a free small flyer/guide to exhibition available at the venue (see below). For ease of wandering, this guide references some of the (usually unofficial) room names given on there.



Many thanks to unusualimage for scanning this in (click to enlarge)




GROUND FLOOR


Entrance

Part of the ‘Boghenge‘ installation that was done at The Glastonbury Festival in 2007 (note entrance sign, and the gross Crow with Tampon on top of the portaloos!)

Reception Area (Labelled ‘Information’ on the flyer for the show)

• Ice Cream Van
• ‘Metropolitan Peace’ Riot Copper on a children’s ride
• 7 statues (clockwise from front left side)

- David as Suicide Bomber
- Angel of the North
- Angel with Paint Pot on Head
- Lion Tamer (eaten)
- Bashed Up Buddha
- Homeless Venus de Milo (& melted bicycle)
- Renaissance Paris Hilton goes Shopping

British & South West Wildlife Room

• Riverbank Ratty (with spray can) - In the 'River Bank' cabinet - This looks the same as the ‘Banksus Militus Vandalus’ rat sneaked into the Natural History Museum in 2004.

Assyrian Reliefs Room

Carved model of Jerusalem (by Tawfiq Salsaa) - with 284 toy soldiers and 1 terrorist added by Banksy

Egypt Room

‘Reduced’ Terracotta style Soldier



Left hand Passage between Reception and Unnatural History - by the Ladies toilets

Michael Jackson modified oil, and shrine (This was added after Jacko's death - On 6th July the Bristol Evening Post reported that another Banksy painting was being added to the exhibition - ".....placed above a black shelf on which stand several lit candles.")

Animatronics Room (Labelled ‘Unnatural History’ on the flyer)

(clockwise from front left side)

• Food Store (Sausages)
• Swimming Fish Finger(s) [originally there were 2 fishes, but they broke down and were later replaced by one larger one]
• Chicken Nuggets
• Stone Slab (“The Bad Artists Imitate, The Great Artists Steal”)
• CCTV Mothers and Babies
• Leopard Skin Coat
• Tweety Pie
• The Monkey as an Artist
• Vanity Rabbit

Costume Jewellery Area

Suitcase of Cash (Di-faced Tenners)

Café (Labelled ‘Another Cafe’ on the flyer)

Wooden Crate with Balloons

The Art of Banksy Room

(Clockwise from Entrance - approx)

Rodeo Girl on Spraycan
You have got to be Kidding me (a.k.a. £10,000)
The Artists Studio (including a paint splodged fire extinguisher shown on the exhibition leaflet)

Collection of Seven Images & Sketches (clockwise from top left)
- Degas X Factor
- Guns Magazine
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel (Rail Replacement)
- Portrait of the Prophet Muhammad
- Rhino Hunters
-’The Exact Same Bowls’
- Bomb Disposal Unit
Who Are All These People?

This Is Not A Photo Opportunity
The Key to Making Great Art is all in the Compositio
Go Flock Yourself

Dorothy - Not on Canvas Anymore
Hardhat Tortoise

The Lone Roller
‘Banksy’ tag in Cage
Heavy Weaponry

CCTV Britannia & Union Flag
Old St Cherub
Workers of the World Unite!
Punk with Mum
Luxury Loft Complex
Nob Artiste
Thomas the Tag Engine
Masked Writer / Bandit (& Step Ladder)
* Subject to Availability for a Limited Period Only
Rembrandt with Wobbly Eyes
Toff with Toy Arrow on Head
Idyllic Klan Hanging
Monkey Parliament
Flies on Still Life
Panda Trophy Head
Woman with Groucho Marx additions
Exit Through Gift Shop
The Power of a Big Gold Frame

Renaissance Couple (Seaside Style)
Riot Police Meadow
Plant Holder with Head

Donut Cavalcade
Fat Tourist Rickshaw
I Hate Mondays

Graffiti Related Activity Recorded by the Police
No Ball Games
This Is Where I Draw the Line (in dustbin)
Warped Wall


FIRST FLOOR

Landing (Labelled ‘Maps’ on the flyer)

• 'Escape from Guantanamo’ - A Guantanamo prisoner in the Bristol Boxkite
• Leathered Priest (statue)



Geology / Minerals Section

• Dildo in the Stalagmites and Stalactites area
• Shopping Trolley Hunter on Rock

Wildlife in Glass Boxes Section

• Lamb with Muzzle

Gypsy Caravan

• Eviction Notice and Wheel Clamp on the Caravan

British Wildlife Section

• Fox and Countryside Alliance Fox Hunting Placard


TOP FLOOR

All modified oils, except those marked #

Most of the modified oils have a small label next to them, saying ‘Local Artist’, and giving a name and date for the painting.

On the Stairs

• UFO Invasion - 2006

French Art Gallery

• Agency Job (Gleaners) - 2009
• Girl At The Windows - 2006
• Water Spillage (No label on this one)

European Art Gallery

• Silent Night - 2005
• Venus (After Surgery) - 2006
• Landscape Near Hartcliffe - 2005

British Art Gallery

• Flight To Egypt (Budget Version) - 2009
• How Do You Like Your Eggs? - 2009
• Dogging - 2006

Modern British Art Gallery

• Improved Spot Painting - 2009 (Banksy, over a Damien Hirst painting)

Victorian Art Gallery

• Home On The Hill - 2006

Glass Cabinet on the staircase between the Victorian Art Gallery & the Artists from Bristol Gallery

Ice Cream Turd (this was originally on a plinth in the 'Art Of Banksy' room, but was moved at the start of the exhibition - I imagine it was considered a hinderance to the large crowds!)



Artists from Bristol Gallery

• Home Sweet Home (No label on this one)

Boring Old Plates

• Hash Pipe #
• Ballet Girl (with Gasmask) #



All the boring (I'm a practical man...) bits.....

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
Queen's Road
Bristol
BS8 1RL

13 June - 31 August

FREE EXHIBITION
Open Daily 10am- 5pm
Tel: 0117 922 3571

“Situated in between the very tall H H Wills memorial building (University of Bristol) and Browns restaurant, at the top of Park Street.

By Bus: Numbers 1, 8, 8a, 9, 40, 40a, 41, 54”

Website - http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure-and-culture/museums-and-galleries



How Do I Get There?


From Bristol Temple Meads Train Station (BS1 6QF)

Bus - The numbers 8, 8A and 9 all leave from just outside the main station entrance and stop opposite the museum. Follow the link below for an online timetable (this one is for Monday to Friday but there are links on that page for weekend tables):

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southwest/bristol/timetables/timetable.php?day=1&source_id=2&service=8/8A/9/9A&routeid=593741&operator=3&source=sp

Or you can get a number 54 or a number 1 (both heading for ‘Cribbs Causeway’) from the main road (A4) that runs past the entrance road to the station. Just walk down the incline from the station, and cross over the road, and you’ll see the bus stop outside the Reckless Engineer pub.

If you can’t spot where the museum is, ask someone. It should be pretty easy to spot though. It’s on the right hand side, at the top of the steep ‘Park St’, next to the very tall Wills Building (it looks like a Cathedral, but it isn’t…that will teach you to nudge your friend, pretending to be clever, saying "That's the Cathedral..." )

Walk - It’s about a 30 minute walk from the train station, and once you get off the busy roads by the station it is a pleasant walk. Past St Mary Redcliffe (famous Church with enormous spire). Over the floating harbour, through Queens Square (which is pedestrianised to a degree), or a detour to see Bansky’s boating reaper on the side of the Thekla (floating club). Then up Park St (past the Bristol Cathedral if you want, especially convenient if you’ve come through the harbour area) and have a photo op at Banksy’s Window Lovers (bottom of Park St - opposite the end of the crescent shaped Council building). Continue up Park St and you can hardly miss the Museum at the top of the street, on your right. If you are around late enough, or on a Sunday, the shutter at the Rollermania shop (62 Park Row, BS1 5LE) is usually down in the evenings and on Sunday. It’s a very early Banksy and Kato freehand collaboration, although it’s nothing like what you’d now expect from Banksy!

Ferry Boat (we kid you not….) - If you want a slightly different experience, you can also get the Ferry from Temple Meads. The landing stage is a 3 minute walk from the railway station's main foyer (follow the white 'ferry' signs). This is West Country so bring yer own life jackets :-)

Take the ferry to the landing stage by The SS Great Britain. Then walk through the Harbourside Village towards the new City of Bristol College, over Deanery Road, up York Place onto Brandon Hill. Then past Cabot Tower on your left and into Berkeley Square right opposite the museum.

If you prefer to use other landing stages, there are others that might be of use (e.g. ‘Prince St‘, ‘Millennium Square‘, and ‘City Centre’).

For full information, use their website - www.bristolferry.com



From Bristol Coach / Bus Station (Marlborough Street, BS1 3NU)

The coach / bus station is easier to walk from than the train station, and is no longer the skanky tramp hangout that it used to be :-) It’s also close to the main shopping area so if your other half / friends need retail therapy, they can do that whilst you look at Banksy’s anti-consumerist messages...

From the front of the coach station you just walk up and up the main road basically, bearing right when needed (Marlborough St / Upper Maudlin St etc - the road changes name 4 times before you get to the museum!). Around the half way mark you also come across Banksy’s sniper (look backwards down the hill to see it - it‘s just after the hospital, on the side wall of the office for the ‘Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal’)

It’s hardly worth taking a bus, unless you really want to, but several will go up that way I imagine. Frankly I got bored of writing this guide at this point.....

If you have time, it’s a 15 minute round detour from the coach station to see Banksy’s ‘Mild Mild West’ mural (walk along Jamaica St, and it’s at the junction with the main rd - Stokes Croft).


By Car

Central Bristol is relatively easy to get from any direction. Many people use the M32 route. You can keep to the signposted main roads, or if you feel brave enough to navigate the smaller streets, you can come off at J3 of the M32 and go up through St Pauls or Cotham / Kingsdown.

There are plenty of car parks (e.g. NCP car parks at West End and Trenchard Street) and on-street parking in the area. If money is tight there's some free on street parking you can fight over, about a 5/10 minute walk away. It’s around the back of the main roads, near the various University and hospital buildings in the area (e.g. Tyndall’s Park Rd, Belgrave Rd, and part of Elmdale Rd)


A big thank you to the Banksy group members on flickr whose information helped this guide

Bill London: They Seek Him Here

Rarekind Gallery
London
Jul 10 – Aug 1 2009

all photos: NoLionsInEngland


After a fallow period buried beneath the post Banksy tidal sludge of pasted lazer jet print-outs, real painted graffiti has been showing signs of a pulse the last four months or so in Shoreditch. Some spark has triggered an avalanche of graffiti in all its' full glorious letterform manifestations from pissed up tags to Olympic standard wild-style burners. Many sperm have nibbled at the egg to create this fertile explosion of life, one of the most potent seemingly being the arrival of Chrome and Black in the area, the other obviously being the Meeting of Styles event.

Among the various species making up the spectrum of graffiti life, at the top of the food-chain are master writers from RT crew such as Vibes.


Vibes RT


Of course, there is no link between the artist Bill London whose show opened in the Rarekind Gallery beneath Chrome and Black and anyone who would write VIBES RT on walls around London, at least there isn’t in the show flyer, and no one met at the show preview went by the name VIBES (actually, no one I met went by the name Bill London either but there ya go, just one of those evenings where people weren’t wearing lapel badges).


Vibes RT, Parklifers, DasR


First impression of the show was a refreshing sense of restraint, this wasn’t a pile ‘em high sell em cheap “here’s everfink from my black book ‘n stuff the gallerist had out the back” exercise. The gallery walls have been given an illusionist relief jigsaw treatment, providing a background matrix to small number of canvasses spanning themes from urban realism to oriental fantasy landscape.

They Seek Him Here


With the range of styles in the show, Bill London transcends the limited graffiti form. The show can be divided into canvasses with letter forms for folk who like graff content in their wall decoration and art with no particular links to graff. The work ranges from almost realism to abstract and from austere urban to the almost pastoral.

Rising Down


Using classic fades combined with splatters, the charmingly named Chlamydia forms a wild calligraphic exercise in writing letters, in a form recognisable instantly as VIBES, compare with the street pieces photographed above. I’m told that the colouring in the picture is similar to the colour of a pair of skimpies tossed on the bedroom floor in a public information film here in the UK, maybe I just haven’t found the right channel.

Chlamydia


One common and somewhat baffling gallery show feature is the part-wall-part-canvas mural, it always seems weird to contemplate taking away a small piece of what is a larger single artwork, They Seek Him Here offers some kind of way round this defect by throwing in a photograph of the complete piece separately with each of the ten canvasses in the mural.

VIBES


The individual canvasses from this wall piece are going to look fairly abstract, in the example below there is a horrible Andrew McAttee type thing going on (horrible if that’s your reaction to McAttee’s squeaky clean bubbles)

They Seek Him Here (1 of 10 unique canvasses)


Signs of Life takes a macabre eco-doom stance and combines it with a futurist urban landscape, where close scrutiny reveals all is not as it seems. Buildings made of ghetto blasters, grenades and hand signs crowned by a winged spraycan deity form a backdrop to yoots lobbing molotovs across an arena of dead bodies, syringes and pipes like fat doobies leaking toxic waste.

Signs Of Life


If graffiti is art lying in the gutter then Broken Window Theory is a trompe l’oeil looking up at kind of tenement whose rough inner-city appearance condemns the place to become a self fulfilling kind of housing project hatchery breeding crime and attracting crime. Sufficiently flat and cartoonish to avoid looking like an attempt at photorealism (thank god), details like the clothes line emphasize the residential and community use of the building, perhaps appearances can be deceptive.

Broken Window Theory

At the other end of the spectrum from the gritty urban feel of the last two pieces Bill London tends towards a eastern natural minimilism in the trio of tryptichs Bamboo which owe no debt to the alphabet at all.

Bamboo


The rustic theme is maintained in the rural pond scene “Untitled”. The dragonfly which may be about to become fodder for the fish is a motif element which repeats in several places (and had me scanning though old photos of un-attributed graff as this dragon fly has been seen on walls recently if recollection serves).

Untitled


Take You There (below) follows the countryside theme of the two works above, though if you were to take a stab at where the scene might be, a molten sunrise over the Yangtse Gorge might be a reasonable guess. The cloudscape being scorched away by the rising sun has VIBES wild tag in the formations but the impact is almost subliminal, non-graff heads could be forgiven for not realising that there are any letters at all. So, good one for the parents and other-halves.

Take You There


The usual reaction within the graff community to writers putting work in galleries is to treat them as sell-outs and call them art-fags, Bill London exposes himself to this knuckle minded reaction but shows his work is varied enough and strong enough to make such sentiment pretty irrelevant (not to mention irrational). Curiously, whereas street artists prize an element of roughness, grime and runs in their work when they move indoors, as a writer Vibes seeks to display his incredible refined skills to produce a very clean image and highly proficient collection. Rarekind have done a great job of staging a very interesting show in their utilitarian white space.

Untitled


More pics from the show here

Subway Art 25th Anniversary Edition

I thought that as a reference book and an X-ray shot into a counter culture that generally is inclined to shun publicity, Subway Art could not be bettered. Sitting with the 30cm x 43cm 25th anniversary addition on my knees (the book – not me) I conclude that as a photograph album this new edition just blows your socks off.







When I looked at the picture above I wondered if it was just the irregular lighting in my irregular kitchen that made the colour of the old book photos look a bit richer but a close comparison reveals the truth. At the larger scale the over-saturation of some of the colours is reduced and you can see more of the detail of the graff archaeology seeping through from the pieces underneath that have been gone over. Obviously, you can only really prove that with the Mk I eyeball, the pics you look at here have been distorted by being captured on the camera, buggered about with the flickr resolution compromises and then knackered by displaying on whatever device you use to read this. This picture is a detail of the L in a BLADE piece, old edition above, anniversary edition below.




The launch and signing graced by the presence of Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant and Blade drew a legendary attendance of current graffiti writers and London Ol Skool (HAN – “Court and Social” page on this blog?).


Blade, Chalfant, Cooper. Sweet Toof canvas behind.


Interestingly, along with pages from the book being displayed on the wall, some huge canvasses painted by members of the Burning Candy crew provided their own stylistic and lyrical interpretation of a few of the historic and renowned images from Subway Art. Gorgeous stuff. And the Burning Candy guys had to queue like the rest to get their new books signed.


TEK 33 - Subway Fiction



Rowdy - "Train-surfing Mouse"



TEK 33 - Night Of The Denoms

K-Guy - Brown Stuff

Street artist and biting political humourist K-Guy has passed verdict on UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s political career. A new installation in front of the Houses of Parliament shows Brown’s career going down the sewers.




Public anger at the sight of politicians with their snout in the tough doesn’t abate while Brown faces decimated popular support (though to be fair – we’d vote against all politicians if there was a suitable box on the ballot paper) and luke warm tolerance from a Cabinet that he appointed.




Stencil portraits passing down the toilet show Brown in a variety of tick-ridden and stressed out poses.








K-Guy’s edgy work has in the past included the spectacular Memorial to The Boom Economy at The Royal Exchange, London, the "cash under the matress" family banking pieces and his celebration of Britain as a multi-cultural society, even more relevant now since the election of the first UK representative from the far right wing BNP party.







all photos: NoLionsInEngland

Royal Albert Hall - LOAD

The Wonderland Collective
The Royal Albert Hall, London
22 June 2009 – only!

The Royal Albert Hall has an almost un-paralleled status in the history of high-brow entertainment and in its’ 138 years has hosted some of the truely iconic performers. And my kids did a percussion workshop and this is the story of how a troupe of stencil based urban artists came to together to pay tribute to them.

Under the Albert Hall is one of those backstage areas most of us never get to see, a place where artic lorries transport huge stage sets and overblown egos, also known as a loading bay. The Wonderland Collective were commissioned to create an enormous freize in the loading bay, hence the title of the opening, as tribute to the hall’s own history and today the fruits of their squirts were on show to the public for one day only.


Load


The beauty of this work is that the real legends, those icons from the pioneering days when British bands ruled the world and American torch singers and balladeers found their audience in the UK remain legends to many generations. Their famous poses and celebrate moments from the archives still have the power to thrill.


Bob, Elton and The Bolshoi Ballet


The installation splits into four distinct elements. There is the Icon wall featuring a montage of giants and Jay Z. Painters on this wall included Grafter and Eyesaw.


Roger Daltry, Muhammed Ali, Noel, Shirley, Jimi, Jay Z, Pavrotti and Frank


Opposite this curve piece is an elongated timeline featuring luminaries such as Paul Weller, Elton John, Jimi, Mick, The Beatles, Eric Clapton and Einstein, the last somewhat out of context but apparently he spoke at the Albert Hall before the outbreak of World War II.


The Beatles, Albert Einstein, Eric Clapton


The third wall looks somewhat spartan, with a collection of translucent Union flags arranged either side of a silhouette of Henry Wood conducting the BBC Proms under a large RAH motif and some popular classical musicians.


Vanessa Mae, Andre Previn


Apart from the stars from the entertainment business, the mural also pays homage to the many others who have used the RAH either temporarily as a passing moment in history or routinely as a local albeit remarkably specialised amenity – the suffragettes, majorettes and brass band competitors, children and ....er.... sumo wrestlers.




The turnout was impressive and varied, opening a behind the scenes space in a location like the Royal Albert Hall to show new paintings of everyone’s heroes draws a fresh crowd considerably different to that found slumped in the gutters in Shoreditch after a Pure Evil opening on a Thursday night.


Naomi, Mick, Winston Churchill, Basket players, Bob and The Bolshoi


The illuminations were a tribute to the fact that one of the first displays of electric lighting was held at the Royal Albert Hall and also explain the eery bluish tint in the pics.

The work will remain on the walls for ever, locked behind the private doors and out of sight from the public. You have to envy the sense of historic achievement The Wonderland Collective must enjoy, they have created something that is destined to last, something to be viewed for decades and decades by generations of roadies and drivers.



For the record, street/urban artists who contributed to this wall, the members of The Wonderland Collective (and possibly some friends) were: Ben Slow, Snik, Blam, Finbarr DAC, Grafter, Eyesaw, DanK, DBO and Babel.

C215 - Shoeshiners

Signal Gallery, London
19 June – 11 July


All photos: NoLionsInEngland except Romanywg and Artbleat where noted


There are only a few people in any art niche who can be said to set benchmarks, who are the constellation in the heavens that every looks up and points at. In the world of street art stencilism, C215 is one of those novas.




Hailing from France with a background that might described as challenged, C215 first came to wider attention in London when he bombed spots east to west and across the centre with his trademark monochromatic stencil portraits featuring grizzly men, suffering but saintly women and portraits of his young daughter pouting moodily.




C215 almost always marries the subject to the location, the rough grimy street corners provide a natural habitat for gentleman wearing the crude, un-kempt look of a life on the road on their faces. From Morroco to New York, Istanbul to Sao Paolo, C215’s forte is seeking locations off the beaten track and not blessed by an over-abundance of first world consumer luxury (like Hackney Wick).


c215, Delhi, Oct 2008. Photo: Romanywg


C215 was one of the original stencillists showcased by invitation at Banksy’s Cans Festival in May 08 and his spot was one of the highlights of the best street art show of the year. The hyperactive and swift working C215 had by year end visited the UK several times and ran dangerously close to stepping over into excessive bombing which, unlike tagging, isn’t such a good look for street art.


C215 at Cans Festival, 2008


However, after a break from these shores, C215 has returned to London for this his first London solo show. The intimate space afforded by Signal Gallery has given C215 a great opportunity to demonstrate his art without the stress of limited time (he generally gets his street pieces done in less than 30 secs).




The most striking observation upon entering the gallery is how much richer the images become when C215 is able to introduce multiple layers, acrylics and a broader pallete into his work. C215 combines lush colours and characteristic detail in the stencil with a strong eye for composition, not one of his images fails not hang together in a realistic manner.


C215 at Signal Gallery, photo: Romanywg


Though the show C21 has been inspired by locations as diverse as Morroco, India, Afghanistan, Delhi and London, the core matter of this show is one man’s diary of international adventures


Afghan woman


Afghan woman has an ambiguity of possibly being a girl or young women with a wide eyed beauty yet her face suggests a calm serenity or perhaps a maturity derived from the responsibilities of running a household from a young age. C215’s pictures convey a emotional depth rendering almost all other stencil artists flat by comparison.

The time afforded C215 in studio work allows him to broaden his subjects to the wider scene and context of his portrait subjects. Apart from a rather oddly twee vintage London scene, C215’s grittily realistic life scenes are at their best when he is focussed on the working environment of his subjects from less developed parts of the world. In Painting In Mirleft we see a working artist but in a rather rough cast studio reflecting characteristically spartan accommodation but at the same time capturing the nobility of honest endeavour and a sense that even in outside the high tech consumerist society we take for granted, there is still call for artists producing beauty and culture.


Painting In Mirleft


Anyone who has seen C215’s online collection of photographs may have spotted that in Delhi in particular, C215 was captivated by the numbers of very young shoeshine boys working the streets. This feeds into the show n the form of several shoe-shine boxes with the personalities of their possible owners painted onto the fabric of their livelihood. If plight is an appropriate word to describe their condition, then the plight of the shoeshine boy feeds C215’s concerns. The work of the shoeshine boy brings someone on a very low income right into the society of the well off middle class, places him kneeling at the feet of his betters in society, indulging the shoe-wearer the luxury of a shiny shoe, a seemingly trivial pre-occupation in comparison with the knife edge hard fought survival of the rag-shod urchin at his feet. Pennies scattered around the box emphasise the in-equality of incomes and the scraps from which the shoe-shine boys must make their lives.


Shoeshine Box 1, photo: Artbleat


The nature of the image on distressed wood of the shoe-shine boxes revisited the collaborative sawn up cello done with his friend the photographer and street art documenter Romanywg and shown at Corked last year.
The show includes several landscape pictures. In the various trackside and train station images C215 seems to be responding to the very similar compositions done by stencil master Logan Hicks (see also Cans festival).


Austerlitz Station


Several images of street scenes showcase C215’s mastery of a certain kind of urban clutter, a dishevelment common to back street locations where functionality and economy are the priorities and pretty privet hedges and civic pride area long way down the list.


Five Star Carting


In Five Star Carting above which is based upon a trip to NY last year and wittily including a street C215 left at the scene , the observant may spy a cheeky nod to the reigning queen of the current crop of street art documenters which definitely wasn’t in the original street scene.
In the scenes which incorporate a vehicle, the ability to render a totally convincing metal sheen and the sculptural bodywork detail is quite incredible. The detail of the wrinkled clothing of the market porter and the detail of the toppled wooden crates and the street scenery visible though what may be railway arches brings in a phenomenal level of realism.


Mirleft Market


My favourite piece was probably one of the least characteristic of the show, a seascape with a view of rippling waves passing through the end of a (British?) pier, breaking towards rocks in the foreground and coming in from the horizon behind. The image don on found board dissolves and softens towards the edges creating a sort of sun falling into the sea with encroaching darkness looming overhead. There is only one thing to quibble within this image and this is the case in several of the pictures, the C215 stencil looks in-appropriately heavy and oversize.


Seascape


There are only a limited number of stencillists – Logan Hicks, Artiste Ouvrier among others, who can cut a stencil with the intricacy and realism of C215 and the art of his images probably surpasses even those masters. I thought my days of being wowed by stencil artists had passed so this collection is not only a delight to behold but is a pleasant surprise too.

The set of pics from the show can be seen here and pics of C215’s London street work over the past year or so can be seen here