Here are some older pieces still rolling in Dundonald: Above, a pandemic-era mural with Superman as a doctor: “A big thank you to all the heroes of the NHS”; below, two small stencils of a young girl contemplating a pigeon and a flower.
“Psst”, “Yes”, “OK”, “Erm?”, “Ha ha”, “Eeeeeeek”, “Wow”, and a vandalised “Phew”, all in Callender Street, Belfast, by Rob Hilken (ig) and Micah Purnell (ig)
“Welcome to Turf Lodge” — “Fáılte go dtí Lóıste Na Móna”. Turf Lodge was one of a number of estates built in the foothills of Black Mountain — including Westrock, Springhill, Ballymurphy, New Barnsley, and Dermot Hill — meant to house an underserved Catholic population and displaced families from other areas of Belfast.
The estate was built over a number of years but most people moved in between 1960 and 1962. (Northern Visions made a documentary about the history and people of the Turf Lodge estate that includes descriptions of the various ways in which the estate was left unfinished even as people took up residence.)
For the sixtieth anniversary, the electrical boxes outside John Paul II (formerly St Aidan’s) were stencilled (above and immediately below). This year (2023), more boxes have been painted, with images of gaelic games (see Gort Na Móna), bluebells (see Féıle Na gCloıgíní Gorma), and the silver fáınne on red background (see #AchtAnoıs).
From north to south (top to bottom in this post) the works are by: Andrey Palval (ig) Chelsea Frew (ig) Nean (ig) NOYS (ig) Rob Hilken (ig) RAZER (ig).
Here is a gallery of the new pieces from Hit The North 2023 on the south side of Kent Street (there is a separate post for the north side and there is a separate post for Kent Street above Union Street).
From left to right (top to bottom in this post), the art is by:
The purpose of the “do not use” graffiti in Braemar Street (seen in Remember The Hunger Strike) has at long last been made evident with this new Belfast antifa (Fb | tw) stencil.
The stencil is in Mount Vernon, which is also home to a series of metalworks – see They Sleep Beyond Ulster’s Foam. That title, as well as the title of this entry, comes from Binyon’s poem For The Fallen, the fourth stanza of which is often cited in memorial for the dead of the Great War: “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; / Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. / At the going down of the sun and in the morning / We will remember them.”
The stencil is perhaps not only a memorial to the dead of WWI – the planes appear to be WWII models such as the Hurricane or Spitfire (as on the box below, and in A Miracle of Deliverance); most WWI planes were biplanes.
Street art by Rob Hilken (web | ig) in High Street and Church Lane, Belfast.
“My mural on the corner of Church Lane and High Street is inspired by the businesses in the immediate area. The circle forms represent sun and moon, the sun rising and setting at the beginning and end of the day and the moon illuminating the night sky. The colour palette evokes sunrise and sunset, and the glamour of the local nightlife. The local businesses include cafes serving food from morning until night, bars where people socialise until the early hours, as well as barbers, hairdressers, nail bars, piercing studios and tattooists for the image-conscious crowds that inhabit the area. The mural aims to add to the identity of the area as somewhere where people go to socialise as well as enhance their own image.”
Here is a gallery of completed pieces produced for International Women’s Day 2023 in College Court. The new street art is part of a larger revitalisation project (Belfast City Council).
The works shown are (from Castle Street to College Street) by Claire Prouvost, Holly Pereira, Katriona, Kerri Hanna, Danni Simpson, Alana McDowell, ESTR; Laura Nelson, Novice Jess, Friz, (guest artist Hicks who was in town to repair and extend his piece in College Street Mews (see Cool) – it was damaged by a dumpster fire) and, on the other side of the street, HM Constance.