Digbeth graffiti Birmingham part 1

I stopped documenting graffiti in Manchester because I realized it doesn’t compare to what I see in Birmingham. Much of the graffiti in Manchester is just tags or random letters on a wall—it’s not the kind of street art I want to see. In my opinion, Birmingham has the best graffiti.

A few years ago, I made this statement privately on my Facebook wall, but some jealous graffiti artists from Rochdale took issue with it and caused trouble. One of them claimed I had no right to criticize Manchester’s graffiti because I’m "just a photographer" and not a painter or writer. But that argument is completely illogical. Film critics don’t make movies, and music critics don’t produce albums—yet they still critique them. The idea that I can’t criticize bad graffiti simply because I document it rather than create it makes no sense.

They know they can’t create anything as good as the artworks I see in Birmingham. That’s why they got so defensive. I’d rather focus on the West Midlands, Leicester, and Bristol, where the street art is actually worth documenting.

 

Screen 22 film stars street art Mural Nottingham

Screen 22  film stars street art Mural Nottingham

27A Broad St, Nottingham NG1 3AP, UK


Screen 22 – Artwork made a good few years ago for when the building behind it housed one of the smallest cinemas in the world, with just 22 seats - Screen 22.

Biggys Withington

479 Wilmslow Rd, Withington, Manchester M20 4AN

 

Mother and Child by EL MAC street art mural Bristol

Mother and Child by EL MAC street art mural Bristol

Woman and baby street art mural Bristol

See No Evil

#bristolgraff  #bristolgraffiti #streetartbristol #bristolstreetart #Upfest

Promoted as the creation of Europe's largest outdoor gallery, Nelson Street, one of Bristol city centre's busiest through roads, was transformed with colour in 2011 and again in 2012. The Upfest production crew worked on behalf of the See No Evil management team, scheduling artists from around the world, working 24hrs a day for 10 days operating access equipment for artists and managing site health and safety requirements

El Mac

Created for the 2011 edition of the See No Evil Festival

 painted in Bristol, England titled "Clothed With the Sun". It is located in the center of the city, on a building six stories high. It was painted during an event called "See No Evil", as part of an effort to revitalize one of the more drab streets in the heart of Bristol (yes, the same Bristol that street art superstar Banksy is from). A bunch of other European artists also painted for this event, billed as "Europe's largest permanent street art project".

I wanted to make this image something like a modernized scene from a Renaissance painting, serene and grandiose. Hopefully Raphael or Michelangelo would approve. You could interpret this as an updated Madonna painting, or an homage to single mothers in a country that has the highest rate of single mothers in Europe.

Many thanks to my lady Kim & her baby niece Madeleine for posing, The Bristol City Council & Inkie for helping make this possible, TATS cru for comedy, Weapon of Choice, Tim, and everyone else that helped out or showed some love.