Diverse trouble

diversebristol street art and culture.
__________
INTERVIEWS
free issue
LXTon

influences,
recent works
and Banksy

JOHN NATION

on graffiti and the
start-up and success
of Banksy

SILK

New kid on the block
chats to us about recent
collaborations and more

L 18400 -1 F: 0.00$ - RD www.diversemagazine.com march 2016 #1

Diverse Magazine diverse_magazine

diverse FEATURED

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Diverse: What's your latest piece to date?
Silk: It's a collaboration with the MOA crew who are based in Glastonbury.
It was interesting to work with street artists outside of Bristol.

Diverse: How did that come about?
Silk: It was quite funny actually because I was at a small event in Easton.
I'd been invited by a family member and the MOA crew had been
commissioned by a family friend to do graffiti in the youth club where the
event took place. There was a spare sketchbook lying around and so I drew
various shapes as I was told by one of the members of the MOA they
wanted shapes in the corner of the piece which I was more than happy to
do. They said they were happy with the design and final outcome of the
piece so, yeah, I was happy too.

Diverse: What artists/themes inspired your work?
Silk: A big influence is henna designs and geometrical shapes because I've
been particularly fascinated by them from a young age. I've found the
combination of henna and geometrical patterns go well together from
experimenting with various sketches and doodles when I'm keeping
myself occupied. As for artists, I would have to say Swoon, as her work is
incredibly intricate with the paper cut outs she does, and detailed
sketches as well as lino prints. The concept of wheatpasting has appealed
to me as it's not permanent and so your art can be removed if it's a
problem. The beauty of street art I think is that it's not meant to last
forever. You should let the city surroundings take over and see what
happens.

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The bumblebee
signature

Does anybody recognise these
characters? The bumblebee is the
signature of a guy called Cheo, he
was an artist around Bristol. A
couple of years back, Cheo was a
bit of a cheeky chappy because
he had come up here and painted
this Wallace and Gromit. He didn’t
ask anybody’s permission, he just
painted it.

The busy bee

uses Aardman Animations to

his advantage

The story is told to Diverse on how street artist Cheo
made a turn around from illegal to legal street art.

Shaun The Sheep The limits of street art
gets colour
This is what I’m talking about.
Radisson Blue Hotel left the Street art is touching these people
picture up and they were like that don't find it an act of
‘Well, we’ve got another blank vandalism. Ten, twenty years
wall here’. They called Cheo back before, if anyone had done art on
and he did Shaun The Sheep the street they would have been
which is a bit brighter as you can accused of being vandals and
see. It was painted a few months prosecuted.

later down the line.

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Aardman loves Cheo's street art

Cheo got his smartphone and he tweeted to Aardman Animations, who own
the copyright for these characters: ‘I hope you don’t mind’ and Aardman
Animations tweeted back: ‘Oh no, we don’t mind, we love it, it’s a great
piece of work.' And so the Radisson Blue Hotel has got a reputation and all
these high class customers that come to their building. They aren't known
for promoting street art, so they were put into this kind of quandary.. Do
we take it down or do we leave it up?, because if we take it down then
people that love Wallace and Gromit, which is every Bristolian, are going to
be hating on the Radisson.

Radisson
embraces street
art

Big companies that are
known for their high class
clients are now using street
art to help advertise, for
example Radisson Blue, and I
believe that this is pretty
much the only Radisson Blue
with graffiti on the side of its
building or street art. This
was done in August 2013.

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Diverse: And where is your art here in Bristol? LXT:
There’s nothing up at the moment but there will be.
LXT talks to dmiveesrssaegea,bhoiustsctyolnevoefyainrtgahnids I’ve got some pieces in my bag actually Diverse: Can
more. we see? LXT: Yeah, here’s some stuff that I’ve drawn.
It’ll be a lot better and more detailed when it goes
up on the wall. There will be more stuff. LXT you
need to look out for. And look around Stokes Croft
and around the Bearpit.
Diverse: Where are you from? LXT: I was born and
bred in Birmingham. Diverse: Banksy’s always got a strong message
within his art, what’s yours? LXT: My message is a
Diverse: What made you do street art? LXT: I grew simple one: just be good to each other. But what I’m
up with street art all around me. So when I was trying to do is a few sound and visual like they were
growing up and was on the bus with my Mum, I using in the Centrespace art gallery. I’m very
used to look out the window and see different interested in that kind of stuff because I’m a
forms of graffiti, tagging, bombing, street art and I musician and an artist. I’m always looking for ways
was always inspired to kind of go that way. to merge the two.

Diverse: What’s your thoughts on Banksy? LXT: I like But my message is definitely just be good to each
Banksy. I think Banksy’s done a lot for Bristol and I other and don’t be fooled by media and advertising,
like his messages. I like the simplicity of some of his don’t get blagged by what they say on TV, be
stuff. I think the way he hides his identity is kind of individual and use your gut, anarchist message.
cool, and a niche thing that he does. I think he does
a lot and I think his messages are strong. I really
believe in his message.
Diverse: What type of art do you do? LXT: I do a lot
of graffiti so I do letter writing. I do ironic stuff by
making fun of social norms and stuff like that.

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Diverse: What would you advise to upcoming street Pixel Pancho, he's into a lot of that robotic stuff
artists? LXT: What I’d advise.. is keep drawing, always and his art obviously has a lot of robotics. But
draw, every day.. The more you draw, the more whatever you’re into that isn’t street art, you might
muscle memory you’ll get so the easier it’ll become be into cars or you might be into Transformers or
and you’ll be able to do your tag or certain pictures you might be into comic books. Whatever it is, bring
without even thinking, without even looking. Your that into your street art. Just keep a broad view, keep
body remembers stuff not just your mind. Keep up your eyes wide open and look at everything, not just
as much drawing as possible and keep your eyes street art, and get your inspiration from different
open. Get your inspiration away from street art. I’ll sources. And be funny, try and be light because
give you an example, when I used to make hip-hop people are walking through the city who have had a
music, I never listened to hip-hop, I used to listen to tough day, they want to be uplifted, so keep it up.
anything but hip-hop. So my hip-hop music was Try and keep it bright, don’t get too dark, for public
original because it had different influences. If I just spaces. If you want to be dark, keep that in your book
listened to hip-hop, then I would be making bog or at an arts show or something like that. I suggest
standard stuff that everyone else makes. So don’t you indulge in your weird and dark side that
look at street art too tough. I mean you can look at it everyone’s got but, when you’re doing street art, try
but not too tough, and look at other stuff. Like that and keep it uplifting because that’s what we’re here
guy M-City, he’s into engineering, so a lot of his art is for, to help, pick each other up and help each other
to do with engineering. out, if you know what I mean. Just keep drawing as
much, as much, as much, as you can and get that
muscle memory going.

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diverse Banksy's former youth woThhisecGaoredefartahnedr othfeBnriasttuorleuorbfasntrseterteeartta. rt speaks to diverse
FEATURED

John Nation

I’ve been involved with
Bristol graffiti since 1982. I
set up a project in Barton
Hill in Bristol which was the
first project in the UK
working with young graffiti
artists who were working
illegally. So, I offered them a
safe environment where I
could channel their activity
into a positive way forward. I
worked with the generation
above Banksy who inspired
him to paint.

Banksy came to my project Not only have I been involved with the arts scene in Bristol,
as a 15 year old boy and he since the 80’s, I’ve also been heavily involved in music, and
described it as his most I promote events such as Ashton Court. I also do tours, every
inspiring stretch of concrete other month in South Bristol, in Bedminster, which is a
walls in his formative years totally different area. There are large mainstream paintings
as an artist. And what my and it is also the home for an event that takes place every
project showed is that if you July called Upfest. It’s Europe’s largest street art festival,
have someone like myself 400 artists representing 100 countries from around the
who has a passionate belief world, 40,000 people, music, food. The music covers
in young people and their everything from hip hop, reggae, drum and bass,
artistic creations, if you breakbeats, and there is food from around the world. Kids'
channel and harness their creative workshops are there as well, inspiring the next
energies and their positive generation of artists, whether they’re into illustration, art,
way forward, then they all sculpture or papier Mache, you name it.
have their crazy little
dreams of being successful
at some point in their life.
And they all harboured
aspirations of being artists
and Banksy is a living
testimony that projects like
that do work if they did go
on and follow their crazy
little dreams. He is quoted
as saying that myself, John
Nation, is probably the most
influential person of youth
art culture to come from this
city in the last 30 years.

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orker There’s a catalyst for the
exposure and global
e on Banksy, recognition of Bristol as a
graffiti culture. The seeds
were sown in the 80’s by the
likes of The Wild Bunch with
Delge 3D because he was
seen as Bristol's first graffiti
artist.

You're scratching the surface because Stokes Croft The Wildbunch and all those
particularly is an ever changing, evolving landscape for the guys that were creating the
arts. The Bearpit is constantly changing whereas Nelson St. original beats that sowed the
is permanent. seeds of Bristol, the Bristol
But what we normally do Sound as it’s called. It then
is, on the morning before progressed on to become
the tour, we go out and Massive Attack, Fresh 4, Roni
recce the location and then (Size), Krust, DJ Suv, you
tailor the tour that day to know, all them guys on
that day’s group. What you Reprazent.
would see today is not the All of it’s intertwined, and
same as if you came back Bristol’s such a creative city,
in two weeks time. The it really is. And you know,
route might change a little bit because the art and stuff London’s got its thing. There
that gets painted here has changed, you know. There was a is a lot of street art in
guy from London who came yesterday, who painted on the London, but it’s quite
side of the Full Moon. Did you see that little fox? Now, condensed. So you've got
he’ll be lucky if that’s still there next week, he will. But Shoreditch, you’ve got a new
when they come here from other cities they know that you and upcoming area in terms
can come to this location and paint. It’s more about social of Tooting. There’s a lot of
media, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, getting your work going up there at the
photograph, loads of likes, loads of shares. moment. But really Bristol as
a city has got more art than
any other city in the UK.
Really, it’s just massive, it’s
so far flung out.
Bedminister’s a great area to
check out.

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diverse competition Disclaimer: Participants must be
Win a chance to havBeaannkosnyli!ne workshop with 16+ in order to take part in this
competition. The winner's name will be

1. When is street art

vandalism ?
Answer both the following

2. Whenquestions: it street art, art?

1. When is street art, vandalism?
&
2. When is street art, art?

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posted on the website.

Send to: Diverse Magazine, P. O. Box 297844, Bristol Headquarters,
Bristol, BS1 7PQ
Name: ...............................................................................

Address: ...........................................................................
.........................................................................................

Telephone number: .......................................................

E-mail address: ...............................................................

Questions: 1) When is street art, vandalism? 2) When is street art,
art? ................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................

The alleyway into

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o street art

Bristol is a 'street art hub'
known for its reputable
artists. With the likes of
Banksy and many others who
are up and coming, Diverse
reveals the hidden talents
and creations you may not
know about.

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diverse dscvr The alleyway into street art

The nightclub asked JPS to Once the stencils are
come back and asked if he layered, the picture
could do another stencil becomes more apparent.
on their building. And this To add finishing touches,
is what he came up with. JPS used a spraycan for
This is Spartacus from an softer touches. For
old TV show. It was a example, on the abs and
Welsh actor who played chest. When artists are
Spartacus and this is JPS' finshed with the stencil,
homage to him. If you look some will keep it and sell
at the details, this will take it off, if their name is big
about 60 hours worth of enough. A lot of them will
cutting with a steady hand chuck them away or re-use
and a kind of obsession. them. Unless the artist is
You would have to get into going to re-create the
all that cutting. A lot of image again, then the
people do say JPS cuts a stencil's not important. A
better stencil, and you can lot of artists round here
see that's pretty true. that are cutting really nice
Banksy is all about the stencils and do really nice
message and location, art, they're not getting
that's the most important paid for it and they're not
thing to him. When it getting a lot of money. So,
comes to the size of you just use the materials
stencil an artist can work you can get your hands on.
on, the sky's the limit. The A scalpel is a tool that the
material that is mainly artist would use to get the
used for stencilling to detail on the stencil.
produce something like
this, is done using Clockwise from left onwards:
cardboard. You'll get Spartacus by JPS outside the
cardboard, draw a picture Queen Shilling; Breakdancing
in pen and start cutting. Jesus by Cosmo Sarson on
You would need a Hamilton House; WW2 refugee
different stencil for each children by JPS; snippet of the
colour. For example, a JPS UK Artist interview by Media
stencil for the black, pink, Drum World TV (via YouTube);
white, blue and grey. So Cosmo Sarson pictured painting
you would need 5, 6, Self Portraits, oil on canvas, 6' x
possibly 7 stencils to 5' for The B-Boy Collection (circa
achieve something like 1997).
JPS has.

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This is a stencil work. And as you can see, This is called Breakdancing Jesus
this is done in a black and a grey, so this and it’s done by a guy called
is maybe two or three stencils which Cosmo Sarson from London.
have been used. This is done by JPS. He's Cosmo likes skateboarding and
a very interesting character and he's a surfing, so he does pictures of
big fan of Banksy. JPS had some trouble famous Pepsi adverts and soft
in his upbringing, he got into a bit of drinks adverts that use extreme
trouble and he went up a very dark path. sports to advertise their products,
But he turned up in Bristol in 2009 and and rips them off. He got inspired
went to a Banksy show, and was by a story, an article he read on
overwhelmingly inspired by Banksy and the Internet.
his whole style. So, JPS went home and
started practising and around the art In the 1980’s the Pope, John Paul the Second, invited
world a lot of people think JPS is a much New York Break Dancers to the Vatican and they
better cutter of stencils than Banksy. If performed breakdancing there. And it’s a true story,
you look at the attention to detail on the Google it. Cosmo thought it was a great story. He won
money on the notes and on the a competition by the Canteen who own the building
eyelashes. It takes a long time to sit
there in your studio and cut and cut. So, to do a piece of art on that wall.
to get a decent piece of art in an illegal He won the competition with his
space, that's why they do stencilling, so Breakdancing Jesus and it has
they can put it up in a really short really captured the imagination
amount of time. There is a video on of people from all around the
YouTube of JPS putting this stencil up world. It has been in news
and, if you look in the corner at the clock, stories and the papers. Some
it takes him exactly six minutes to put people love it and others not, so
this up. But it'll have taken about fifty different reactions from
hours in the studio to get that picture. different spectrums of society.

What I can tell you about this piece is that he had
loads of trouble with all that gold paint because he
decided to put loads of glitter in his can. This gives it a
wicked kind of divine effect when the sun shines on it,
but it messes up your can. He did this piece in 2014.

So stencils are known for their
quickness, and that's why people
shouldn't look down upon it as an art
form. It's done to get some art on a wall
that they're not meant to get on the
wall. What happened is the club Queen
Shilling liked the piece of art and they
wanted to keep it, so they
commissoned JPS to do another piece
which is not far from this one. This is a
picture of children being evacuated in
the Second World War. It's a recreation
of that picture, and that's a gas mask
that she's carrying on her back with JPS'
intials on, which is how he signs his
work. Banksy generally doesn't sign his
work anymore, but he used to.

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