The Wall

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The Wall C A R D I F F I S A C A N VA S

Featuring EMPTY WALLS FESTIVAL // POLITICS YARN BOMBS // STREET ART TOOLKIT

Welcome CO N T E N T S

3 Helen Smith’s yarn bombs

4 Empty Walls project & map

6 Street art toolkit

7 The politics of street art

8 Artist profiles Created by: Alex Blake, Jordan Harris, Mia Holt, Meg Nisbet & Emma-Louise Pritchard

T H I S I S T H E WA L L

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The streets of Cardiff provide a canvas for artists, whether their weapon of choice be a spray can or a couple of knitting needles and a ball of wool.

The Wall is our canvas, showcasing the very best works of art in the city, as well as insights into the lives of those adding colour to our urban landscape.

It’s packed with artists’ profiles, public opinion, vital info on the tools used and the political implications involved.

Awash with vibrant shades and fresh designs, the capital has become a canvas.

This is our tribute to it. This is The Wall.

Helen created some yarn bombs on City Road

INTERVIEW

Helen Smith

SE C R E T YA R N B O M B E R Are there any other artists that inspire you?

There’s definitely crochet artists that I get inspired by. Twinkie Chan is an American crocheter and she’s fantastic. All of her work is food themed but it’s on more of a fashion basis so it’s big cupcake scarves or pizza slices made into scarves. It’s always a bit tongue in cheek.

What do you think the Empty Walls project brought to Cardiff?

It was great. People’s reaction to the project has just been amazing. I had so many nice comments back from it but also hearing all the feedback about everyone else’s art was amazing. I hope that it opens their mind up to seeing more stuff like this in Cardiff and it’s not just going to be viewed as just a bit of mess on a wall.

What’s coming up for you in the next few months?

I’m definitely going to be working on more pieces.

The only ones that are up at the moment are the snakes, there’s about three or four. I’ve got about three more at home. There’s something I’ve had in the pipeline for a while which is a craft vs He art exhibition, but that’s le n something that’s still just being talked about.

I’d love the whole of Cardiff to just be covered in yarn bombing and beautiful walls.

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Yarn bombing is the act of creating street art using wool. How does it fit into Cardiff’s urban art scene?

Street art is everything. It’s from the performer on the corner of the street to someone tagging the sides of trains. I don’t think it’s supposed to be contained in galleries. It’s something that’s shared, it’s nice to just brighten the world up a bit. Yarn bombing is just another form of street art. Woollen graffiti I guess!

So how do you actually create a bomb?

All the ones for Empty Walls, I made while I was here in work. I’d gone and done a quick recce of sizes so just literally a bit of string around a tree to get the circumference and then make these big flat pieces so when I have to go and install it, it’s just a case of stitching up the sides.

How do you decide where to yarn bomb?

I definitely prefer trees because they are such interesting shapes and you can play with them, unlike structures. Lots of people use lamp posts and bike racks and things like that. It seemed right to do it on a grander scale for the festival.

Where do your ideas come from?

Inspiration is a funny one. I guess it’s just ways different people view the world differently. I have endless lists of things I want to make and create but I just don’t have the time. I’ve got sketch books and notebooks everywhere. You wake up in the middle of the night and just write ideas down, or you see something and you think ‘that’s really cool.’

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Empty Walls Festival MURAL MAP O F T H E S T R E E T S

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In October, the capital became an open air gallery for 10 days as Cardiff council commissioned 12 street artists, from both Cardiff and around the globe, to create inspiring and vibrant murals.

The art collective Modern Alchemists came together as one to unite their talents in a celebration of creativity. Public murals have popped up on selected walls around Roath and have transformed the streets in to individual explosions of colour and culture.

The festival created a platform for emerging local and international urban artists and each masterpiece boasts the artists’ distinct styles, from an iconic Welsh dragon to an absract combination of shape and colour.

Follow this tour across Roath to expose the murals and their creators.

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TOOLBOX

Toolbox basics

ESSENT I A L S FO R T H E S T R E E T S

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1. MARKER PEN: Use for sketch lining, internal structures or just to neaten your design up 2. SPRAY CAPS: The diameter of each cap is dependent on the chosen design and paint used 3. DUST MASKS: Unless inhaling fumes is your thing, wear one of these for your own protection 4. DYE INK: Never go dry with a bottle of refil ink ready for those empty markers 5. SPRAY PAINT: A bottle of colourful laquer to get your creative juices flowing 6. SCALPEL: For cutting out your rad stencil designs in prepeartion for the big paint off DON’T FORGET: Don’t get yourself in trouble, you always need permission from the wall owner!

Anti-Tesco sentiment in Radyr, Cardiff

POLITICS

Making a statement

THE ME A N I N G B E H I N D T H E A RT As well as for aesthetic pleasure, street art can also be an act of revolt and an appropriation of public space to spread a message. With walls providing an ever-present canvas for the disaffected, rebellious and defiant, all you need is a couple of spray cans to make a statement.

Politics and street art have a long and cosy history, stemming from the graffiti boom of 1970s New York City up to the unmistakable stylings of modern day Banksy. For decades, an empty wall has provided the perfect platform for artiststurned-activists to share their message of change.

Rebellious examples have appeared at political flashpoints the world over; in the Middle East on the Israeli West Bank barrier, on walls and burnt

Helena Taylor, 23, Cardiff “I like walking past the murals. The Empty Walls project was a great way to brighten the city and they are all so thought provoking.”

out cars during the Arab Spring and, in Bristol, antiTesco protests have taken residence on the streets.

Tesco has been a particularly hot topic as the opening of a new store in Bristol, in 2011, prompted Think Local: Boycott Tesco murals and Banksy’s own Tesco Value petrol bomb. The art heightened the protests’ profile and raised public awareness surrounding the potential closure of local businesses. This sentiment has also been mirrored in Cardiff, as the Shuts every little shop mural on the Taf Trail in Radyr, attests.

Street art is often more than just an artistic image. It can have a deeper meaning, adorning the city walls and transporting a message from the streets into the public consciousness.

Alex Thomas, 18, Cardiff “Actual paintings on a building are good and add to the place. They have a meaning which is better than something random.”

Holly McDonald, 26, Cardiff “I think i’ts beautiful, it’s absolutly lovely. there was talk of a changing wall but I think I would really miss this stuf if it was gone.”

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PROFILES

The artists

THE PE O P L E B E H I N D T H E PA I N T

Artist: Best, 30s, Cardiff Influences: My friends and crew-mates, those involved in Peaceful Progress, Sinstars, ILC . The latter two crews I’m in are both 25 years old, making a combined 50 years in the Graffiti game. I’m proud to be painting with great people Style: Forward thinking graffiti with traditional roots Describe Cardiff’s art scene: Good and bad

Artist: Phil Morgan, 34, Penarth Influences: I’m a big fan of David Shrigley’s paintings and illustrations Favourite piece of street art: I met an Australian street artist from Sydney while in London over the summer who goes by the name of Jumbo. His street artwork is amazing Describe Cardiff’s art scene: Evergrowing creative scene

Artist: Hb, 22, Roath Influences: SAN, Blu, Colour Doomed, Phlegm Style: Paint and draw on walls with a mix of emulsion and spray paint and use lines to build the contours of the shapes Favourite street art: I really respect artists that work specifically with the space, shape and textures that the wall comes with. I think Phlegm and Run work magic with this aspect

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