painted wall

Death

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Chuck Schuldiner was the founder, vocalist, and guitarist of the metal band Death – one of the first “death metal” bands – from 1983 until his death at 34 from a brain tumour, twenty years ago today (WP). The mural in his honour is in the alley off Bloomfield Avenue, behind the former Vault HQ; it reproduces a Getty image of Schuldiner from 1995 holding a BC Rich Ignitor guitar, now out of production. Please leave a comment if you can decipher the artist’s sig.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Extramural Activity
X08758 X08757

Act Now

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“Act now” on the climate crisis – the hands “evoke action” in preserving the flowers, butterflies, and bees (Irish News). The work by Danni Simpson (web | ig) is on the Montrose Street side of the Skainos Centre in east Belfast. The mural was unveiled by Rosalind Skillen, a podcaster and writer (e.g. BBC) on climate from east Belfast. Funding was provided by the Climate Coalition (Friends Of The Earth).

See also: Life Preserver

See previously in east Belfast: emic’s ‘twisted hands’ mural which was further along the Newtownards Road when the Vault artists were in the old Ulster Bank building – see 35.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08753

Hill Or High Water

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The Community Rescue Service (web | Fb | tw) respond to calls about missing persons on both land and water. They were involved in the search for Noah Donohoe and in distributing PPE during the pandemic.

The mural was painted by Mickey Doherty – see the ‘in-progress’ images below – and reproduces a Philip Magowan photograph and a photo of founder Sean McCarry (Belfast Live) from the CRS web site. It is sponsored by Cab Tours Belfast (web). It was launched on November 27th. It replaces the Fidel Castro memorial mural.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08670 [X08671] X08669 [X08665] [X08666] X08667 [X08668] northumberland st

Born Upon The Tide

Extramural Activity1 Comment

Ballycastle harbour is home to the Rathlin Island ferry and a memorial plaque to Marconi for an 1898 transmission between the town and Rathlin, and Morton’s Fresh Fish and Fish ‘n’ Chips. The mural above includes Ballycastle fishermen Sean Morton Snr, Phillip Morton, Jack Coyles, Will Henry, and Jimmy Black.

The mural is by Oliver McParland (web).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08552

For The Love Of Skulls

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Full title: “For the love of skulls what have I done” by Matthew Knight (ig) in Kent Street, Belfast, for HTN2021.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08719

The Professional

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Two views of Glen Molloy’s (ig | Fb) homage to the 1994 film Leon: The Professional, painted for HTN21 in Union Street, Belfast.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08513 X08710

Chemical Warfare In Ireland

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is the third mural (see 2014 The Maze Ablaze and 2018 The Battle Of Long Kesh) on the International Wall on Divis Street about the ‘Battle Of Long Kesh’, when republican prisoners tried to burn down the cages in protest at living conditions in the camp. CR gas had recently been developed by the British MoD at a lab in Porton Down and is alleged to have been “used against Irish POWs”.

Brady & Faul wrote an 80-page report on the conditions at the camp following the event, entitled The Flames Of Long Kesh. “Telegram to International Red Cross: ‘ … Visited Long Kesh today with others … request immediate investigation into use of “CR gas” … sub-human conditions … SOS … come immed[i]ately’ – 20 Oct 1974, Brian Brady & Fr. Denis Faul”.

The photograph which the central part of the mural reproduces is HU 70205 from the Imperial War Museum’s collection.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08679 X08678

About Bloody Time

Extramural Activity2 Comments

The original version of this mural by Dublin artist Wee Nuls (ig | web) was beside Transport House but it was painted over almost immediately (you can see it on Twitter). This new version, at Artcetera (formerly the Red Barn Gallery), is auto-redacted with historical commentary: “You can censor the art … but not the movement”, the movement being for “free period items” in public spaces beyond schools, spearheaded by Homeless Period Belfast. In November, 2020, Scotland became the first country in the world to offer free period products (BBC). In October of this year, Pat Catney (SDLP) in the NI Assembly introduced a ‘period poverty’ bill to expand the availability of menstrual products (BelTel); the ‘Call For Views’ period commenced on Wednesday and ends on December 18th – have your say via NIAssembly.

Wee Nuls also has another piece on this wall: Medusa. The ‘period’ mural is next to Leo Boyd’s ice-cream PSNI land-rover – which started life as Freshly Made For You! (see also Winding Up The Peelers).

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08644 X10140

Covid-Era Canvases

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

A tribute to the NHS on a vinyl sticker in the newspapered front window of The Bear & The Doll (formerly Titanic, formerly Frames) – which closed in March last year (2020) in the distinctive style of London artist Nathan Bowen (ig | web store) who has been working on closed-up buildings and construction hoardings during the pandemic.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2021 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X08645