Western Eye 11.13 — Issue 03
01
UWE’S STUDENT VOICE
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INSIDE ISSUE 03 WESTERNEYE UWE’s Student Voice
SCIENCE & TECH
ENTERTAINMENT & LIFE
FEATURE ARTICLE
BRISTOL’S BACKBONE
Mars Awaits Across the Ocean of Void
Mercury Prize The Unexpected Winner
World Cup Brazil Why it will be a good thing
Local stories The unsung heroes
Continues on pages 10 & 11
Continues on page 12
Continues on pages 16 & 17
Continues on pages 24 & 25
Bower Ashton students arrested for vandalism
Urban art or criminal damage? GEORGE GILL
news@westerneye.net
uwe students “disappointed” some members of Bristol’s Bedminster community this month after spraying graffiti on a Grade II listed building. The incident occurred in a South Bristol suburb and the wall belonged to the community swimming pool. Three students were involved, all of whom were
where do you draw the line between Banksy and criminal damage? in their late teens. They are students of Art at uwe’s Bower Ashton campus. The ‘wannabeBanksys’ were handed police
cautions by Avon and Somerset police for their misdemeanour. Upon investigation, the WesternEye found local residents’ were divided on the topic of artistic graffiti (or, ‘urban art’?). One local resident spoke of “disappointment and frustration” in general with the younger community in Bedminster. Another, was keen to highlight Bristol’s connection with the urban art scene, questioning: “where do you draw the line between Banksy and criminal damage?” The police have clarified where they draw the line; referring the students to local, dedicated graffiti walls. PC Nigel Ingram reinforced: The swimming pool is a Grade II listed building and it would cost the council £10,000 to clean just one wall of the building of graffiti, as special products need to be used to protect it.
Rather than using the boards which have been put up in the park for the sole purpose of people expressing their creativity, these lads have climbed over iron railings to deface a listed building. It is clearly illegal and will not be tolerated. Nonetheless, Bristol remains famous for its urban, artistic culture. Bristol’s ‘aerosol boom’ began in the late 1980s and grew tremendously in the 90s along with the rise of Bristol’s underground music scene; and, of course, Banksy himself. Other popular Bristol-based graffiti artists include Nick Walker, Inkie, Sickboy, Cheo and Lokey. Nick Walker is often accredited with bringing stencil graffiti to Bristol in the 1980s and, hence, having a big influence on Banksy. See No Evil was a popular
summer event in Bristol in 2011 and 2012. It featured a collection of famous graffiti artists who collaborated in spraying Nelson Street in a week-long event that ends in a huge party. The event, which had previously attracted over 50,000 people from all over Europe, was cancelled this year due to organisers’ concerns over a lack of wall
space due to redevelopments. On the See No Evil Facebook page, they promise: we only want to do bigger and better. With this in mind we have already turned our attentions to 2014.
IAN D THE TYPHOON FGR4 MANUFACTURED BY BAE SYSTEMS
It costs a bomb
How UK-taxpayers fund the exportation of arms to questionable regimes… GEORGE GILL
news@westerneye.net
EMMA BROWN BEDMINSTER SWIMMING POOL
in the aftermath of uwe’s alleged ‘arms fair,’ officially known as Defence Procurement Research Technology Exportability conference, on the 20th November 2013, George Gill takes closer look into the history and practices of the industry… See WesternEye.net for more details about the event itself.
Defence technology is one of the few manufacturing industries in which Britain still leads the way. David Cameron, keen to promote export-led growth, has travelled around the world promoting British business interests. Critics accuse him of putting profit before people as Britain exports arms to countries that use them to oppress their people. Continued on page 4