Philth (Water Street) Rochdale

Philth (Water Street) Rochdale 

PHILTH

Combining the best of illustration, graphic design, beauty and large scale murals to create a unique and distinctive style

Part of the Never Ready crew, artist Philth is known for incorporating patterns and inspirations from the natural world into his pieces.

This mural pays homage to the town’s cotton weaving past and features eight cotton bolls – seven are open, in a nod to the past, whilst one remains unopened, as the artist looks to the future.

Philth also draws inspiration from inscriptions found at nearby historic buildings. One such inscription, Semper Paratus on the top of St Edmund’s Church, translates as ‘always ready’. It’s a stone’s throw from Never Ready, the graffiti crew Philth has been a part of for the past 14 years.

St Edmund’s Church also happens to be filled with masonic symbols, making the seven open cotton bolls significant here.

 

Folie aka Cookie Love – Volta Lab Studios

Folie aka Cookie Love – Volta Lab Studios

 Manchesters Cookie Love paints in variety of mediums from body paint to spray paint. Her artist name ‘Folie‘ derives from the French for ‘madness’ and is her means of celebrating the relationship between mental health and art. Her mural on the side of the Volta Lab studios is a what she describes as a nudge to women in music and their under-representation. Her ‘Girls to the Front‘ message is about just that.

The mural also depicts a reference to Rochdales former Ashfield Valley Flats taking the form of a mixing desk. Famed for their links to the punk and alternative music scene they had nonetheless soon gained a notorious reputation which ultimately led to their demolition by 1992. Three of the tower blocks still survive in the town as Stoneyvale Court with the rest of the area becoming Sandbrook Park.

Another element of the mural celebrates Volta Lab Studios itself. An unassuming building it has a rich history as part of the Manchester music scene. Playing host to various iterations of recording studios of the years, it has recorded the likes of Joy Division, Happy Mondays, Elbow and the Stone Roses. The pulsing radio signal seen in her work is a reference to that. Taken from Joy Divisions 1979 album cover ‘Unknown Pleasures‘ it was recorded at the studio. A further random fact associated with that particular image is that it was taken from the first recorded pulsating signal recorded from deep space. It was discovered by Jocelyn Bell in 1967 and initially called LGM-1 (Little Green Men) as it was believed by others to be alien. It wasn’t of course but it’s an interesting story

Angel street art mural Rochdale

Angel Mural by @_tankpetrol #_tankpetrol

@tankpetrol #tankpetrol

Nelson Street Community Church

 The team at Nelson Street Community Church have taken inspiration from our 2019 mural festival & commissioned the super talented @_tankpetrol to paint this stunning new piece of art on their building. It's looking very lovely! 😍😍😍

Bird 🐦 Graffiti Rochdale

 

Street art mural Bonecat Music shop Rochdale

Graffiti Mural Rochdale

Bonecat Music shop (previously Tractor Music), Drake Street.

 

Street Art London Police (Drake Street)

Street Art London Police (Drake Street)

London Police (Drake Street)

Known for their iconic LADS characters and precision marking, the London Police’s work has graced streets and galleries in 35 countries. They first started in 1998 in Amsterdam and within a few years had painted over a thousand characters on its streets.

Now their characters are on display in Rochdale too. The street on which they’ve painted was once a thriving hub of shops and businesses. Now in the process of being regenerated, this new mural brings new happiness, light and love to the walkway.

 

Northern Line & Dirty Faces (Alley by Poundworld)

This collaboration between Rochdale-based mural company Dirty Faces and Manchester based paint outfit Northern Line pays homage to the town’s surprisingly long association with muralism.

Its floral background references to one of Rochdale’s first muralists, Walter Kershaw, who still lives in Rochdale to this day. His original Pansies piece was painted in 1972 and was quite famous in the town. Now long gone, it was also his first ever large scale mural.