Realistic image of a female face in profile by Irony (Fb | Tumblr) for CNB15 just off Berry Street towards the Royal Avenue end. You can see the image he was working from at deviantart. The earring is borrowed from the piece next door, which we’ll feature tomorrow.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A snake wrapped around a rod is the symbol of Asklepios, the healer, but this fearsome creature is wrapped around a spear and they both seem headed for a victim rather than a patient. CNB15 work from Spanish street artist Sabek (Fb)
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03061 the future starts fast “just one way”
Here is the CNB15 piece by MELS2 (Fb), showing (in the wide shot, below) four bloody hands, with blood red nails, belonging to a blonde-haired, black-lipped woman looking askance at the viewer. The inspiration for the work is Dublin photographer Monika Lejman/Mona Leymann.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
culture night belfast 2015
The wave of people seeking asylum from political strife in Europe continues.”Fáılte romhaıbh a chaırde” is Irish for “Welcome, friends” while “Qaxootiga soo Dhaweyn” is Somali for “Refugees welcome”. Somalis make up about 9% of the current wave of migrants from Africa and Syrians 33%. (Irish Times) 2,000 refugees are to be settled in Northern Ireland. (belfastlive) The yellow-on-black outline of parents and daughter running originates in the United States, used on ‘caution’ signs along highways near the US-Mexico border. For images of the mural’s launch on September 12th, see the WARN twitter feed.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02998 qaxootiga soo dhawevn westagainstracismnetwork.org arabic
Dublin artist James Earley (Fb) was in Belfast last week for Culture Night (CNB15 ) and painted this large-scale horse on the side of the National Grande Café. A wide shot and in progress shot are below. Here is a short video of Earley discussing his work; this piece is in a less-definite stained-glass style than previously – see his Wolf for CNB14.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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Street art is often vandalised (see: the whole of Cupar Way and also A Short Treatise On The Ephemerality Of Art in which NIKO destroyed Praise’s CNB12 piece) but rarely is the vandal a commercial company drumming up business.
In a first for Belfast murals, speech balloons have been added to the Ring Of Peace mural in Waring Street to advertise office space. They read “Forget it, Muriel. I’m moving my business to CQHQ without you!” “Oh Jeff … It’s too close to the City Centre! I want to be with nature …”. We hope that indeed the ad does move away from the “muriel” – the balloons appear to be pasted over the mural, rather than painted on.
The speech-balloons are in fact an improvement over the earlier complete covering of the mural (paperjamdesign). In a less successful part of its media strategy, the business’s web site, at cqhqbelfast.com, appears to be non-functioning.
Report and video on the corporate vandalism from BBC-NI.
See the unadulterated original: Ring Of Peace.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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A view of east Belfast from the perspective of the children in a nursery school in Beechfield and Westbourne Streets: the modes of modern travel, including the Seacat, and a long-standing symbol of industry, the ever-present H&W crane.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02796 car bus houses sky clouds coloured railings harland and wolff
Among the sweepings at the site of the former RUC barracks are placards from Sinn Féin Youth (Fb), one bearing a (never-before-seen) Red Power flag (WP). “End social injustice”.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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The Kashmir Bar on the Springfield Road gets a face-lift with a mural of the old Kashmir Bar, including the boast that it was home to the best singers in the west. A look at the Kashmir Bar Facebook page reveals that pool seems to be the foremost activity. For a photo of the old (green-fronted) bar, see D00283. (There is also a small image on the Belfast Forum.) If you can identify any of the locals pictured, please comment or e-mail.
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X02749 X02760 X02751 established 1895 brendan smyth wine spirits céad míle fáılte in memory of IRA volunteer sean gaynor who was murdered in his home at 236 springfield road by members of the ric on the the 26th september 1920 Image of Sean Gaynor’s grave in Milltown. Account of killing and funeral from Rıstead O Murchú
William Connor (later William Conor) was born in the Old Lodge area of Belfast (in 1881) close to the location of the new bronze statue shown in today’s images, which is at the corner of Northumberland Street and Shankill Road, replacing the UVF/Shankill Protestant Boys (see M02457). The info board (shown below) describes his methods in capturing the Belfast street scenes for which he is most famous: “Conor was developing a spontaneous drawing technique by recording quick impressions, and it soon became a habit for him to go out into the streets with a newspaper, which contained loose leaves from his sketchbook. When he saw anything of interest he leant against a lap post or wall, took out his newspaper as though he were simply reading the sports results and sketched away.”
For more info, see the project’s web site. For images of many of Conor’s paintings, see ArtNet. For images of the sculpture in progress, see Lönze’s site and the project’s Facebook page.
Officially launched 2015-09-26
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Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X03026 X02954 X02955 X02956 X02957 X02958 Painter William Conor PRUA RHA ROI OBE (1881-1968) was born in Fortingale Street and developed many of his renowned paintings in this area known as Conor’s Corner. J. Wilson Conor’s work on display: Going to the Mills (1914, Crumlin Road, Belfast), Riveting, Lamp-post Swinging (1957, Belfast), The Twelfth (1918, Wellington Place, Belfast), Two Men Watching Lambeg Drummers, Digging. Sculpture & Concept: Holger C. Lönze, Cork. Architectural Design: Robert Morrow, Belfast. All images by William Conor collection ulster folk and transport museum
Extramural Activity 