An ‘Object of Wonder’ Exhibition Presents...
SOUTHVILLE’S REMAINING ART Anna Morrell & Alice Robinson
A Remaini Southvill
Southvill Remaini A
Art ning lle’s
lle’s ning Art
Visiting the Southville area of Bristol we discovered the forgotten feeling that exudes out of the highstreet. With chipped paint on every wall, dirt built up over decades. It was time to shine a light on these accidental pieces of art. Southville has been left to degrade for years with other areas given the attention and gentrification that it deserves. Housing prices are only growing in the area but we can’t help but notice that the surrounding area is being deserted. We aim to make what would seem like an unintended smudge or chalk mark feel an intentional piece of art that has a story and a message. From this exhibition we hope to get people thinking about their local area and the hidden gems that go unappreciated or to have pride for the place they live and take better care of it.
Artist: Unknown This artist has left an individual marking which could never be replicated the same way. Left behind just like the place. Meaningless to many except for one? Located on the ASDA supermarket building; we imagine that a child found wet paint somewhere, placed their hand in it and then made their mark on the wall. It is definitely a child’s hand after we compared it to our own hands. This is one of many marks left by children in the area. There is no indication of its age, with the building not being treated to any cosmetic refurbishment since at least the 1990’s. We can imagine that it will remain there until the hands that made the print are much larger and perhaps have wrinkles. Perhaps highlighting its intrigue may either make it be removed and disappear or even inspire others to leave their mark in the area.
Individual
300 Artist: Unknown The dirt on the wall is slowly covering the remains of a marking. How long has it been there? What did it say? We may never know, but what it has given us is an interesting and quite abstract piece that makes us think of the likes of Jackson Pollock. As we captured this piece our tape refused to stick to the wall, it collected the dirt that had been building for years. This perfectly represents the attitude from the people higher up that have forgotten about Southville. The highstreet is bustling every day with residents and visitors shopping in the independent and chain stores. The surrounding areas are given attention for their newer housing. The highstreet isn’t being invested in to keep up with the increasing house prices.
Love Letter
Artist: Unknown Hearts are always found in any place you go but we never know its intended recipient. There are chalk markings on almost every pillar of the highstreet (one that you will also see in this exhibition). However, we had assumed that they were symbols for contractors to see and fix or measure something. Did the same person make this heart, or did someone find the yellow chalk. Love is not an emotion we personally felt, as visitors, to the area nor did we see much love being exchanged. This is a sad but maybe not so uncommon feature of the average English highstreet.
The Mysterious
Artist: Unknown
Scuff
Maybe this scuff was from plastic? Maybe it was from a shoe or a tyre? A scrape of a bumper? Something with a fast movement? The investigation of understanding which often goes unnoticed.
Green Moss Artist: Unknown A natural piece of artwork left for dead, weathered and textured. Each aspect adds a new texture from the hard brick wall, crackling paint, and soft fluffy green moss. This indicates towards the overgrown, damp, dirty and abandoned wall. Caused perhaps by the dampness of the alley and its neighbouring leaky pipe. It is a natural mark left by the environment that could be removed with a simple process. Again, this is the responsibility of the local council but with cuts to the community getting bigger and bigger it is the last thing on the priority list.
The splatter pattern feels unplanned and someone’s test spray for their graffiti piece. Its colour is fluorescent and is clearly fresh by its lack of dirt on the surface.
The mixed aesthetic of these two materials creates a juxtaposition that we feel really represents the culture of Southville. While much of the area remains traditional, there are vibrant corners that define the changing personality of its residents.
Artist: Unknown
Blue on Brick
Artist: Unknown This artist leaves his mark, his identity on the wall. We wonder where he is today. The colours hint to a dull winter where Southville hibernates. Perhaps this is where the blue paint from the previous piece ended up. This is their masterpiece after testing the colour on the red brick wall. Another interesting part of this piece is the mismatch of the background wall colour. The wall has become a patchwork of wall colours, graffiti, chewing gum, posters and more down this alley walk way. That itself could be transformed into a permanent gallery.
Cold
Past
d
A Ghost From the
Artist: Unknown The remains of posters, flyers and tape have a lasting effect of what was once there. A blast to the past or just a faint memory. The marks which are left create a sense of eeriness, a reference of clues to the question of what life was once like, what once stood in its past. The posters that have been put on these walls have been torn down by others who want to put their own up. They have served their purpose and the event has taken place but often the posters remain on walls, posts and trees for years. The glue in the corners anchors them to the wall even if someone tears them down and so we see a wall full of corners, left to remain. This is a dramatic metaphor for the spirit of Southville, that despite being damaged and forgotten, they continue to stay together as a community.
X Marks the Spot
Artist: Unknown
We look at these two X’s, chalk marks on the wall that makes us wonder what the artist’s intention was. We feel that it represents the darker side of Southville and perhaps the forgotten aspects. The rough variations in thick and thin lines suggest an impulsive and quick manor which the lines were made. The likelihood of Southville being given any sort of makeover is very small but we cannot understand any other purpose for them being on every pillar of the highstreet.
The most unglamouous marks of Southville are the thousands of pigeon and other bird poo that will only disappear through rain or decomposing. This one in particular looks fresh everytime we see it even weeks apart.
We discovered this mark high up on a wall.It’s source was unclear but it’s range in tone and texture was what struck us. We can speculate that the artist was very experimental when this was made.
Artist: Unknown
The Brown Mark
Southville’s Remaining Art
An ‘Object of Wonder’ Exhibition Presents...
Anna Morrell & Alice Robinson November 2016