Aberdeen in Scotland’s North East is the country’s third largest city. Famed for its granite, the light coming off the North Sea causes the pale grey stone to sparkle in the sun.
The striking architecture (some dating back to the 15th Century) and statues are majestic, and the cobbled back streets are full of authentic charm.
Aberdeen lacks the chaos and pretense of larger cities, and I was enchanted right from the start of my visit. Pieces from the previous two festivals along with this year’s offerings make it a street art lovers paradise.
Nuart is having a huge impact on Aberdeen’s popularity and it is now a rapidly emerging UK cultural visitor destination. This festival is an organizational feat from both the well seasoned Nuart team (behind Aberdeen’s sister festival in Stavanger, Norway) and Aberdeen Inspired, the City Centre’s Business Improvement Team.
As I arrived at the heart of the festival, Aberdeen hummed in the warm evening glow. HERAKUT’S magical piece from 2017 loomed over the top end of The Green whilst SMUG (up in a cherry picker) added the finishing touches to his photo-realistic piece at the opposite end. Between these mammoth pieces, a throng of Aberdonians, street artists and visitors celebrated on the streets with food, drinks and music. Meanwhile in a nearby tunnel, ‘Master of Typography’ BEN EINE finalized his ‘Shiny Happy People Laughing’ lettering: perfect to capture the festival’s spirit.
Nuart has curated plenty of eye catching and witty touches to the city among the more obvious murals. JAN VORMANN created miniature house facades by patching up damaged walls with Lego blocks, and EMENEM’S tiling added unexpected pops of color to Aberdeen’s tired pavements.
EVOL gave 10 of the city’s electrical boxes a multi-stencilled make-over, creating miniature apartment blocks from these typically dull eyesores. JULIO ANAYA CABANDING adorned some of Aberdeen’s unloved walls with his Tromp-l’oeil paintings, carrying out his mission for pictorial interventions in abandoned places. This diversity of styles has encouraged festival goers to appreciate street art in a multitude of forms: a far cry from just your average graffiti.
Nuart Founder (Martyn Reed) assembled a two day Nuart Plus Street Art Conference, that consisted of an international research program; a peer reviewed journal, artist presentations, panel debates, workshops, education programs and a variety of film screenings at The Belmont Cinema.
Nuart also put a strong emphasis on fun, community and inclusivity. On the agenda was the ‘Graffiti Grandmothers’ workshop that provided the 65+ generation with art tutorials and materials. Armed with masks and spray cans, the seniors were invited to tag up and paint free spots in the city. Children’s activities included the ‘Chalk Don’t Chalk’ and Lego Workshops as well numerous family-friendly guided tours over the Easter Bank Holiday.
Aside the festival activities, there was much to achieve for myself and my fellow photographer, Cormac Thomson. There is such a vast amount of artwork to document in Aberdeen, we had to work quickly to capture not only the main pieces, but smaller works from local artists.
One of Nuart’s key innovators, DOTMASTERS (AKA Leon Sessix) once again left comical touches to the city. ‘Rude Kid’ figures (inspired by his own children) cheekily popped out from high windows and numerous back streets of the city.
STRØK stencilled intricately detailed monochrome figures onto an enormous viaduct wall. His leaping, kicking and flying men suspended in the air cast long shadows, and literally stopped passers by in their tracks.
Fine artist and muralist HELEN BUR painted two characters on Greyfriars House, using her classical oil painting inspired technique. Helen’s practice challenges us to make sense of a world we are increasingly unable to interpret. Her painting resists distraction or escape.
HAMA WOODS depicted a striking leopard walking upon multi-colored abstract shapes, with an almost hidden rodent in the corner, masterminding the scene. I enjoyed seeing young families flock towards this piece, and although the artwork is jolly: the underlying message challenges human greed and is a cry for environmental conservation.
A pair of geishas by HUSH stand under a tall brick arch on St Andrews Street. Hush fuses traditional Eastern art with the Western traditions of action painting and graffiti. His works have an underlying concern for the degradation of women in the Japanese pornographic industry. Nuart is about bringing social issues into the mix as well as aesthetically pleasing artworks.
Numerous little figures by JAUNE are dotted on walls around the city, adding wit wherever they are found. His mini-men are usually clothed in high-visibility utility gear, so it was an amusing touch to encounter a special kilted Scotsman!
Major player AXEL VOID created two of the festival’s most impactful murals. Located off the beaten track on student apartment blocks. These black and white photo-inspired works are startlingly macabre and so mesmerizing that paid them two visits: the first in spring sunshine and then again in moonlit darkness.
Another particularly arresting work on Aberdeen’s walls was from VHILS. Utilizing his fine stone-masonry craft, he chiseled a large relief sculpture called ‘Unearth’ to mark the Aberdonians who fought in the Spanish Civil War. Nineteen men made the 1,600-mile journey to Spain to join the International Brigades against Francisco Franco’s side and five of them were killed in battle.
Also drawn upon the city’s history is a much-loved PHLEGM piece from 2018. The mural pays homage to the dedicated Rubislaw quarry workers who toiled with the granite from which the city was built.
In addition to the 3 day festival, Nuart Street Art Tours run by dedicated Aberdonian guides will be operating until October 2019.
The Nuart Team deserve a massive applause for making their 3rd festival in Aberdeen such triumph.
Photo credits: Hannah Judah and Cormac Thomson
