STREET ART
Above, an Odeith ’gator sends its regards from Baton Rogue; right, PichiAvo in action
The Bristol Life bluffer’s guide to this year’s top Upfest artists
IDIOT’S GUIDE TO UPFEST
OK, so we reckon even we can recognise a Gemma Compton now (birds, flowers, eyes etc). But to help you really impress your mates up from London for the weekend, we asked Steve Hayles, co-founder of Upfest, to pick out a few more names for you to conjure with.
(in case you arrived in Bristol less than 10 minutes ago)
• Upfest is short for the Urban Paint Festival, though practically no-one ever calls it that. • This year’s event is the 8th of its kind, and has been partly financed by a successful Kickstarter campaign. • It’s Europe’s largest street art event, with over 300 artists painting 28 venues throughout Bedminster and Southville. • The artists paint live on 30,000 sq ft of surfaces in front of 25,000 visitors, who also come down for the affordable art sale, music stages, art workshops and food stalls. • It’s FREE – but please buy a brochure to support the festival and its nominated charity, NACOA (National Association for Children of Alcoholics).
ARTS
PICHIAVO
These two guys are just incredible, and a perfect example of ancient meets modern – combining the neoclassical themes that more traditional art lovers recognise, and remixing them with bursts of colour and graffiti: rewriting the rules, and making it theirs.
SHOK-1
Now this guy is a genius, and has been around since the early days of the scene, with a career spanning more than 30 years. His artwork is a cool blend of street and science, spraying unique X-ray art on building all over the world, freehand, without any other help.
ODEITH
One of the pioneers of anamorphic art. Standing out for his compositions created in perspective and painted on more than one surface, such as 90º corners or from the wall to the floor, Odeith’s work creates an optical illusion effect when you look at it from a different angle. His work is
very interactive; you can look at it from a totally different area, and you’ll see something different pop out.
LEON KEER
One of the top street artists in the world, specialising in 3D and anamorphic street art, painting on walls and floors all over the world. He’s great painting in front of crowds, and believes that every street art piece is special and belongs to the streets and its residents, which sounds a lot like us. w www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 35