Banksy’s Bristol

I don’t know about you, but when I think about street art there is one name that immediately comes to mind – the elusive Banksy. The graffiti artist extraordinaire actually started his ‘career’ in his local heartland of Bristol creating subversive and often controversial works of art at a time when graffiti-ing in the city was strictly forbidden.

Banksy was born in Bristol in 1974, and as his artistic flair blossomed he found himself sucked into the artistic wave that grew into the movement that delivered street art to the people of Bristol in the 1980s. Using the buildings of the city as his canvas, Banksy set out with a can of spray paint in his hand and transformed walls, alleyways and under-passages into displays of humorous and innovative displays of pop-culture.

Over the decades, his work has cropped up across the globe, notably in London, LA and New York, but having visited his home town of late (you can read about my trip here and where I stayed here), I am going to share my experience of Banksy’s Bristol with you.

* * *

Setting out in the wet and windy weather, that I should really have adapted to by now, as a born and bred Brit, I was determined to spend my second day in Bristol discovering the city’s defiant streak and expose my eyes to its colourful, multi-faceted exhibition of rebellious street art. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to join the well-acclaimed and increasingly popular ‘Where the Wall’ tour, so instead set out to find some of the high-lighted pieces on our own. Not only did we find some of Banksy’s most famous masterpieces but we also came across a number of other artist’s work as we strolled through the city’s spunky and sometimes alternative core.

– Well Hung Lover – Frogmore Street, Central Bristol

– Paint Pot Angel – Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Central Bristol

– The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum – Harbourside, Central Bristol

– Grim Reaper – M Shed, Central Bristol

Others

Where we didn’t quite get to, largely due to our time restraint was the bohemian cultural quarter of Stokes Croft and slightly further out, to Banksy’s initial stomping ground in Easton. These two areas, which together resemble a giant outdoor gallery, are homes to Bristol’s largest and most diverse street art selection, including a number of Banksy’s earliest pieces – some of which however have sadly since been painted over. Does the graffiti artist accept overpainting by other graffiti artists as part of the evolution process, I wonder?

– Mild, Mild West – The Canteen/ Jamaica Street, Stokes Croft

– Masked Gorilla – Fishponds Road, Easton

– Cat and Dog – Foster Street, Easton

* * *

I will definitely be returning to explore these parts of Bristol once warmer (and drier) weather is here to see some of the above for myself!

What do you think of Bristol’s street art scene and of course, Banksy’s work? Which is your favourite?