The “occupied Palestinian territories” include the West Bank (including East or Arab Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, which, although governed by Palestinians since 2005, is still considered occupied due to Israel’s blockade and control of Gaza’s borders and seas (UN).
This new mural on Ascaıll Ard Na bhFeá/Beechmount Avenue/RPG Avenue in Belfast is prompted by the current attacks on, and siege of, Gaza by Israel in response to the attacks by Hamas that left more than 1,300 Israelis dead (Jerusalem Post). The mural perhaps uses the same stencil as in Springhill in 2014, reproducing a Carlos Latuff (Xitter) cartoon.
“‘Bout ye?” This “cracker wee spot” – with a “belter!” Big Fish under a H&W crane – is in the alley behind Queen’s Film Theatre (officially called University Square Mews).
A celebration and exploration of Belfast’s most famous textile, the “linen biennale”, runs until October (web). The Linen Hall library also runs a tour of the “linen quarter” on Thursdays.
Visual Waste’s (ig) Great Victoria Street mural includes various linen quarter buildings: the Grand Opera House, the Europa hotel, and Inst., alongside the H&W cranes and the Titanic museum.
The Vault artists have moved out of the old Belfast Met building in east Belfast (see Do You Own A Giant Building? | The Vault Is Empty | Locked Vault) and set up shop in Marlborough House in the city centre and the Shankill Mission in west Belfast. The group have a new web site: vaultartiststudios.com. The inaugural event at “Marly” took place this weekend, called It’s All Your Vault. There will also be a launch event at the Shankill Mission at some point. In the meantime, here are three from the side of the Shankill Mission, from (bottom) emic (ig), (below) Rob Hilken (ig), and (above) Kerrie Hannah (ig) who takes her inspiration from stained glass windows in Townsend Presbyterian by Wilhelmina Geddes (see On The Other Side).
Here is a complete set of the street art in Meetinghouse Lane, Newtownards, mostly produced during an October 2021 jam, though the Glen Molloy (ig) piece above pre-dates that. The other pieces are by Kerri Hanna (ig), Mr Fenz (ig), Emic (ig), Matthew Knight (ig), Carla Hodgson (ig), Danni Simpson (ig), ?kairos?, Irony (ig), RAZER (Fb) & NOYS (ig), NRMN (Gerry Norman ig), Friz (ig), Annatomix (ig) (the squirrel’s name is Derek), Rob Hilken (ig), FGB (ig), Zippy (ig), Alana McDowell (ig).
Which direction will you go in? To the negative west of the compass of “choice” lie “Alcohol, paramilitaries, drugs”; to the positive east are “Education, employment, life. On the side panel, youngsters are encouraged to study English, math(s), social media and Google.
And further down Brooklands Drive, “Ballybeen makes winners” in sports: soccer, boxing, and motorcycle racing. The boxer is John Lowey, who represented Ireland at the 1988 Olympics; he is also featured in Boxing Through The Generations and Ballybeen Dream which last also includes three local footballers.
In Japanese mythology, cranes are symbols of longevity because they are reputed to live for a thousand years (KZN). These cranes, however, were painted on September 24th by HM Constance (ig) and Zippy (ig) at the junction of Donegall Pass and Botanic Ave for the Open Botanic festival, and they were still in place on October 1st when the first two photos shown here were taken, but by October 4th the front fencing (on the Botanic Avenue side) had been painted over, taking out the crane on the right.
According to this BelTel article, the fence below the billboard is property of the ad company (JC Decaux) and not the landlord (who had given permission for the art), and so Decaux painted it over, as a neutral surround is part of the ad presentation. As can be seen from the fourth image, below, the painting-over included some of the side fencing, though this was done fairly carefully – it removed the head and wing of the wrap-around crane without touching the other crane.
Artist HMC expressed her disappointment, though noted that “street art is never permanent, it’s meant to be painted over by future artists or graff writers” (ig). Adam Turkington, director of Seedhead Arts, likewise decried the obliteration to the Telegraph, saying, “Who controls the aesthetic of our city? … Are we not allowed to have some beautiful art that’s not trying to sell us things?”
The graffiti was added on the 5th or 6th and was still visible yesterday (8th): “Street art is 4 the people – support your local artists!” We would expect Decaux to paint out the graffiti, in keeping with their policy. And perhaps HMC will restore the red sun and artist’s signature to the side panel. If either happens, this page will be updated.
See previously: the crane as a symbol of peace on the Cupar Way “peace” line: Tsuru.
Paddy Duffy Collection 