Bickle's Trickle

There's a passage-way in the city centre that I often pass through and it seems to be a kind of zone of transience. There are still some red phone boxes down there and its unusual now to see people actually making calls from them, but they do get used for all sorts of other things.

Often I notice someone has left a religious pamphlet in each one. Sometimes I see a passing character habitually checking the change trays for unclaimed coins. Now that can't account for much of an income these days but I remember doing it as a kid and the effect was a bit like winning on the slot machines when you actually come away with a free coin or two. You'll see a smooching couple of young people in there once in a while as well. Today one contained a small bottle of vodka, disposable cup and bottle top set out on one of the little public shelves. Was that a difficult call to make or just a handy cubicle for a quick stiff drink?

As I moved on the smell of disinfectant hit me from the tide of gloriously splashed mop water caught in the sunlight. The stones of this apparent sanctuary from the spotlight of the city are frequently blood spotted and piss stained leaving unwelcome clues to last night's dramas. I was reminded of that famous quote by one of our popular icons of direct action citizenship, Travis Bickle. A complex character who was of course a bit misguided, but in his own naive way a proponent of civic values, 'One day a real rain will come down and wash all the scum off the streets...'

Mr Smooth and Mrs Shiny

Metal things polished by countless human touches are currently rockin' my world. There's just something amazing about substances as hard and 'permanent' as metal being changed by the gentle, incidental touch of passers by.

I came across this sun licked example on a kissing gate near to the Church yard where Sixties singer Nick Drake is buried on an Autumn stroll. It was enjoyable to feel the smoothness, compared to the rough finish on the rest of the metalwork, and to know that I was imperceptibly contributing to this communal tradition.

There are other examples that I pass by most days, some like the metal utility covers beneath our feet are buffed by default, others like the extremities of public statues are conscious rubbed like a lucky Buddha's belly.

Brolley Monsters

I've seen a lot of these recently. Our windy and wet Summer has created the conditons for a mini epidemic (I may exagerate slightly) of abondoned and dead brolleys. Now since when did it become acceptable to dash down your brolley at the point it ceased to serve you effectively instead of disposing of it appropriately? Or has it always been one of those things that its okay to dump at will on a blustery day?

I am taking note of the things that we are tending to see 'abaondoned' that people appear to have 'inadvertently left behind'. Most are much less poetic than the rash of spidery, umrella carcasses that seem to inhabit their own subterranean world and rest assured I'll be featuring some further examples .

Perhaps people think that they can be mended and some old umbrella pixie will be glad of the semi complete workings to restore and re-sell on the black market. Or that one of the few surving rag and bone men will scoop it up and weigh it in, after all there's some good metal in that framework. Or is it that they want to set free these other worldly mutants to live out their days and take their chances in our forgotten spaces?

Fake Jolly Roger

Just got back from Turkey, where there are a lot of fakes. I mean serious amounts of branded goods, piled high for sale at knock down prices. Right now 'Diesel' is massive as is 'Von Dutch', amongst lots of other high street names familiar to most of us. Someone told me there are no copyright laws in Turkey and that figures as the tourist streets are like dodgy UK car boot sales without the threat of lurking Trading Standards officers - they proudly advertise 'genuine fakes'. Just goes to show how bonkers us Brits go for 'labels'...

In the spirit of free appropriation so prevalent there I came across lots of these adapted Jolly Roger motifs, it was surprising at first to see this outlaw brand claimed by officialdom. But the skull and it's accompanying lighting bolt 'crossbones' set into concrete quickly became ubiquitous as almost every telegraph pole carried one. And very effectively they conveyed their message too, whether or not you know what 'Ulum Tehlikesi' means.

The red stenciled version illustrates another strand of interest I am looking into in relation to street signage - when signs go bad. I am seeing more and more degraded, worn out and poorly constructed signs that none the less manage to hold onto their meaning and continue to function despite being almost eligible. Some are practically subliminal and seem to permeate our consciousness without us even knowing.

Mosaic can save the world

It might seem a slightly outlandish claim but I've been snapping examples of mosaic tiling, mostly incidental architectural embellishments (rather then feature pieces), and I am becoming convinced they can have a civilising influence.

The example above was bathed in hazy afternoon sunshine when it drew my attention with its scattering of blues and contrasting scale and qualities with the surfaces that frame it on either side. I get the impression a lot of this kind of tiling dates from a particular period when it was more fashionable and seen as a slightly exotic and long lasting form of embellishment (1950's-70's?). Now that much of it has visually receded and become part of the fabric of places, indeed is hardly noticed, it's humble 'randomised' schemes seem to exert a kind of power that speaks of quality, colour harmony and a kind of painstaking care. I've seen enough to believe that more mosaic tiling in public spaces could help save lives.

So imagine my pleasure and sense of confirmation when I came across these wonderful mosaic surfaces in the remains of the ancient Roman city of Ephesus in Turkey. Covering a vast area of public space, this tiling has a lovely organic quality with each component tile being unique in shape and the use of beautiful but subtle colour palettes laid out in simply enjoyable patterns. If it was good enough for the Romans I am sure we can borrow a bit from their seat of civilisation and inject some of that much maligned and often abused art form into out urban cityscape's for the good of humankind.

Evaporating dosser

I came across this little scene in an alleyway as I scooted across the city this morning. Now I am big into doors and entrance-ways at the moment and this is a good one, with a solid pair of doors and a good set of steps, framed with brick. It is probably a fire exit and I guess these days they'd design out this kind of classic dossers perch. I mean, if you fitted an external door to the space it would be almost big enough for a bijou micro-compact home.

But this one seems to tell a story, with an abandoned pair of worn out shoes neatly placed in one corner, the remains of a pack of Rizla in the other and a big wet patch that actually spilled out of the secluded doorway and exuded down the pavement. It almost looks like someone has dematerialised into a puff of smoke and just left behind a bit of human residue and their shoes (that they happened to have taken off) like some kind of reverse Genie. Unless of course it is an unholy mixture of piss and booze and some poor old soak was hauled off to the nick without his footwear...

Monkey Business

I don't think this is a genuine Bansky, but who knows, maybe he takes his holidays on the Canary Islands where this picture was taken the other day (and emailed to me). Obviously its based on the popular Che Guevara image, which must be one of the world's ultimate iconic graphics. Except he seems to have a monkey face and his revolutionary star has migrated off his beret into the sky.

Its got more than a bit of a rough and ready feel to it and the agricultural render is very typical of the traditional hillside buildings out there, much different to our smooth, stencil friendly public surfaces. I can't help thinking that maybe there is a connection with the banana plantations that dominate much of the surface area of this archipelago. Or perhaps its something to do with the long running Independence Movement that is evidenced in other graffiti in the Canaries in protest against the genocidal Spanish conquest...with a dash of Planet of the Apes thrown in. Maybe someone out there knows exactly what this is, but I like it's bold enigma and slightly defiant gaze.

Another city

Just got back from a day in Leicester, I guess it's been a good few years since I was there last, but I realised there is always a sense of excitement about wandering round a 'new' city (even if it isn't particulary exciting or world class - no offence Leics). There's always some worn down and gouged out interesting bits to discover.

As ever my trusty camera phone snapped a few urban sights. A bronze statue of Thomas Cook outside the train station with his open hand out-stretched invited a 'compare and contrast' exercise with a crouching rasta asking for spare change at the station entrance (NB; is this the Travel Agent dude, feel ignorant of the history, note to self: must find out).

Another snatched picture is a wonderfully scraped and crumpled street sign that exhibits a great graphic quality and illustrates another modern urban phenomena - 'oblivious reversing lorry syndrome'. I remember a memory of a time when a driver taking his vehicle back to the depot at then end of the day would have to explain any mark on it, it was a big deal, wages docked and all that. Now I think they probably peel luckless pedestrians limbs out of the front grill and sling them in a skip, never mind noticing the prangs and dints in a leased lorry that no-one really owns.

My final picture (I usually only take one of each subject, quickly framed and snapped) was taken at the other end of the journey back in Brum. Someone had taken a lovely few swipes under my feet with orange fluorescent engineers spray paint, centred on a cross signifying a broken paving slab. Maybe it it a sub-conscious effect of the 'nu-rave' fad but I am crazy into fluorescent colours at the moment, so this brought me some simple pleasure!