Palestinian artist Taqi Spateen’s (web | ig) second piece in Belfast is in Palestine Street in the Holylands of south Belfast, where he worked with Artists Against Genocide (ig) to produce a piece showing the strength of Palestinian women, carrying the land from which Palestinians have been evicted in the Nakba of 1948.
For the first piece, in Kent Street in the city centre, see Anatomy Of Oppression.
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Despite the quote “Times change; we need to change as well” (attributed to Nelson Mandela, though perhaps only from Francois Pienaar in the film Invictus) the riot going on in black-and-white is not from the past (as in this east Belfast mural) but the present, and in particular from the 2021 riots on Lanark Way (BelTel) which is the site of this new mural. Similarly, the mural depicted in the background of the riot scene is not from the past – it was refreshed in 2022 and continues to loom over Mount Vernon and the off-ramp from the motorway – see Prepared For Peace, Ready For War.
The mural thus asks young people to decide between two visions of present-day life: the grey world of violence and the colourful world of programmes from R-City – Communities Integrated Through Youth (www.rcitybelfast.com), including “one-one mentoring”, “leadership for life” (QUB), and “SHE” [Supporting Her Empowerment].
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“His majesty King Charles III D.G.Rex.F.D. [Dei gratia rex; fidei defensor – King by the grace of God; defender of the faith]” successor and son of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and father to William, the current Prince Of Wales and Baron Carrickfergus (no “of”).
Each of the corners of the board shows a quarter of the royal standard, including, in the bottom left, a ‘maid of Erin’ flag representing the kingdom of Ireland, which has been present in the standard (of England, of Great Britain, of the United Kingdom) since 1603. Shortly after partition (1922) it was used as the banner of arms of the Irish Free State and later adopted as the arms of Ireland and of the President but it continues to be used in the UK royal standard. (For a history of the royal standard, see Prothero, Faul, & Grieve one | two.)
Thalia Street, south Belfast
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Discover Ulster-Scots (web) has added some more boards in north Belfast, joining the recent gallery of famous figures at Mountcollyer Avenue (see The Scots In Ulster).
Above, Alexandra Park Ave: “The Ulster Fry – Ulster-Scots put the Ulster into the Ulster Fry with our famous soda and potato farls. Farl is an Ulster-Scots word describing the quarter round shape of the breads.” Breakfast fries as we now think of them date back only to the Victorian period and became popular particularly after WWII (WP). Soda farls (and soda bread) go back further, to the 1830s and 1870s when baking soda began to be commercially manufactured and cheaply available (ACS). Recipes can be found at the Discover Ulster-Scots ‘Food Traditions’ page.
Below, from Upper Canning St: “Ulster-Scots distilleries made Belfast a global centre of whisky production. Historic Ulster-Scots brands like, Dunville’s, Mitchell’s and McConnell’s are making a comeback in the 21st century.” “Ulster-Scots also invented ginger ale and brown lemonade in Belfast. Ross’s and Cantrell & Coughran (C&C) were the pioneers, with Belfast ginger ale later taken worldwide by another Ulster-Scot who founded Canada Dry.” The labels shown use the “-y” spelling, perhaps in order to emphasise the Scottish association rather than the Irish. Cowan’s appear to have used both spellings (“whisky” and “whiskey”) in their labelling – see the gallery at Bloggin’ Fae The Burn. Dunville’s now appear to use the “-ey” spelling exclusively (web).
Finally, in North Queen St: “Ulster-Scots have been making Belfast a better place for over 400 years. Many of Belfast’s leading charitable, religious and educational institutions were founded by Ulster-Scots.” with images of BRA (James Crombie), Clifton House (possibly William Tennant is intended), the Linen Hall Library (a list of founders can be found on page 11 of this History), the Assembly buildings (of the Presbyterian church), and Queen’s (John Mowat).
See also: the Visual History page on Ulster-Scots murals.
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The Vault artists (ig) are making good use of the gallery space at their new digs in Marlborough House. FGB (ig) had an exhibition during HTN (entitled “He’s Not Right In The Head” – ig) and new work by Leo Boyd (ig) is on display this week.
The ad above is in Waring Street, in Belfast city centre. Included below is the same piece in paint form, in Kent St for HTN24.
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“Where sugar, butter, sides of salted pork, barrels/of herring & other pickled fish are lugged/over the river whose name the city stole.”
This is another “Cathedral Quarter/Smithfield & Union” “walking poem” by Graffic Belfast (ig), in Warehouse Lane. (See also: Hello, Hello, Hello.) The river in question is the Farset – see The Farset Voice. The verse seems to be original.
Warehouse Lane, above the four paintings of the United Irishmen.
See the Visual History page for the Belfast Entries.
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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Here is a selection of art from the Cupar Way section of the west Belfast “peace” line. Some of the artists came into town for Hit The North 2024 (Lidia Cao, Lours, Elno). We also see work by DEUX, SNAK, NOYS, BAISE?, NOTA, Keyto, and Kilian (Road Rage Ruth).
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The cover Jim Fitzpatrick did in 1973 for Thin Lizzy’s ‘Vagabonds Of The Western World’ album was reproduced in 2024 in east Belfast as a tribute to local guitarist Eric Bell (the middle figure). There is video of Bell playing the solo to ‘The Rocker’ in Berlin the week of the album’s launch, in September, 1973 (youtube). Bell – aged 22 – left the band at the end of the year, a few months after the release of ‘Vagabonds’ (WP). He currently lives in Co Down (BelTel).
By Blaze FX (web) Woodstock Road at Jocelyn Avenue. Tom McClean has video of the launch (youtube).
The album is also one of the cassette tapes featured in Back On The Streets further along the Woodstock Road. There is also a Thin Lizzy mural in Bangor.
There is a Visual History page on The Influence Of Jim Fitzpatrick on muraling.
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Copyright © 2024 Paddy Duffy
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Here is a gallery of images (and a list of artists, from top to bottom, and from North Street to Royal Avenue) from the (Hit The North) Paint Jam last Saturday (the 25th) in Lower Garfield Street, organised by Seedhead Arts (ig) and the Belfast Improvement District (BID web).
Stag (above) by HMC (ig)
Rose by Ollie Amscai (ig)
Pigeon by Strangford (ig)
Smelling The Flowers by Lost Lines (ig)
Melting House by Illoustrates (ig)
Dexter by NRMN (ig)
Crow by MWAK (ig)
Broken Hearts by Laura Nelson (ig)
House Panels by All The Doodz (ig)
Garfield by Cha Cha (ig)
Crow Chain Gang by FGB (ig)
Geometrical Flower by Katriona (ig)
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Cat by Jam2 (ig)
SNAK by SNAK (ig)
Wasp by Conor McClure (ig)
Leopard by Friz (ig)
Seed Heads by ?
Design by Not Pop (ig)
Gremlin by Wee Nuls (ig)
Embracing Our Creativity by Zippy (ig)
plus a pair of angel’s wings on the other side of the street.
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Paddy Duffy Collection 