Belfast

Multicultural East Belfast

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Topical commentary from East Belfast graffitist Hallion: Above, “к черту Путина”, in the blue-and-yellow of Ukraine, is Russian for “To hell with Putin” (or something a bit stronger); below, “Thran rights nai” – “thran” is an Ulster-Scots word meaning “stubborn” or “contrary” (entry for thra – the related verb – at Hamely Tongue) but perhaps here standing for Ulster-Scots in general and commenting on the tortured history of what is now (as of May 2022) the ‘Identity & Language’ bill (BBC) covering Irish/Gaeilge and Ulster-Scots/Ulstèr-Scotch in Northern Ireland. “Hallion” is itself is a Scots/north England word, meaning a scoundrel or rapscallion (MW | etymonline).

Previous Covid pandemic commentary from Hallion:
2020: Wash Your Hawnds | It Hasn’t Gone Away
2021: Wear A Mask Or The Easter Bunny Gets It

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Belfast Or Bust

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Two from Swiss artist Bust (ig | web) for HTN22, who describes his current work as “neo-pop”, combining pop art, cartoon characters, and traditional graffiti writing. The smaller piece is in Donegall Street, the multi-storey one can be seen from Kent St. A third, more casual, piece can be seen in Love, Loss, And Beyond .

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Under The Cherry Blossoms

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Castle Arcade is so-called because it is the site of the original castle of Belfast, built by the Normans in the late 12th century and then rebuilt by Arthur Chichester in 1611. Chichester’s castle had “spacious gardens which extended from the river along to Cromac Woods and near Stranmillis” with “orchards, bowling greens and cherry gardens … fish ponds,” for “hunting, hawking, and other sports”. It was destroyed by fire in 1708 after which the area became commercialised as a market (ArchiSeek | Mary Lowry | BBC | Belfast Entries).

By Friz (ig) and Gerry Norman (ig).

See previously: You’ve Got The Key Of The Street.

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Remember Your Neighbourhood

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“A scramble for the window seat/Steam curls as the whistle blows/Clickety clack train on track.//Remember your neighbourhood in the late afternoon sun/The district was a different place then/All you owned was a box full of toys and a smile on your face.”

The York Road railway station was a few minutes’ walk below Ritchie Street – site of this mural and community garden – until it closed in 1992. The original line was to Ballymena and then Coleraine and London-/Derry, with service to Carrick and Larne added later. It was badly damaged in WWII and its final demise came with the opening of Belfast Central in 1976 (WP). It was replaced with Yorkgate in 1992 which no longer serves as a terminus (WP), but the line still runs along behind the end of the streets along York Road and the Grove area of the Shore Road.

Ritchie Street, Belfast

Previously in Ritchie St: Union Flag

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A Tale Of Two Protests

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While 17,000 people in red t-shirts – many of them young (see image below) – were marching for an Irish Language Act (Acht Gaeılge) (BBC | Belfast Live | BelTel | youtube video | organised by An Dream Dearg tw), a dozen grey-hairs were outside city hall protesting the 2022 meeting of the World Economic Forum (which ends tomorrow in Davos). Among the … hypotheses … presented: “Zi great rezet needs war” (a German-ised – and thus more sinister – version of The Great Reset (WEF video); “Pfizer knew their vaccine would kill” (a headline from The Light newspaper); a cashless society will mean a social credit score; devices on the internet of things will be hooked up to a “5G monitoring system”; UBI is “Austerity”; an end to privately-owned businesses; an end to single-family homes; a global government, currency, central bank, and military; an end to all privately-owned property (more threateningly put as “You will own nothing and you will be happy” (meme) at the barrel of a gun).

Today’s post is bookended by two images of the emblem of An Dream Dearg – a white ring or fáınne on a red background – flying over the top of the ‘Rock and on Slıabh Dubh.

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Evoke

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In sequence, here is the east side of Kent Street, below Union Street. This wall begins with emic’s 3-D hands and then the new (HTN22) pieces begin: Claire Provoust (ig), Holly Pereira (ig), DMC, ADW (ig) (this piece was featured previously in Spring Into Art), Det + Mash, Omin + Oner + Kone, Vents (below Biggie Smalls in Only Love Can Save Us). The Codo piece from last year is still on the shutters at the end (see Before An Audience).

For other walls painted during this year’s HTN, see Vagabonds Of The Western World | Red Heads | The Children Of Gear | A Burning World | Love, Loss, And Beyond.

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Love, Loss, And Beyond

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Here is the HTN22 street art and writing along Union Street, Belfast, west of Kent Street, in sequence from east to west. The pieces are by Nial.OL (ig), JMK (ig), Kenz (ig) (whose piece is entitled ‘Love, Loss, And Beyond’), KMG (ig), Inkie (ig), Aches (ig), and Homer Simpson with Garfield legs by Bust (ig) whose large piece can also be seen, in the background of the third image (and was featured previously in Belfast Or Bust).

For other walls painted during this year’s HTN, see Vagabonds Of The Western World | Red Heads | The Children Of Gear | Evoke | A Burning World.

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A Burning World

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Here, in sequence, are the HTN22 pieces on Union Street to the east of Kent Street, with work by Razer (ig) (reproducing a Judah Passow photograph from Divis flats), NOYS (ig), Irony (ig), KVLR (ig), Lobster Robin (ig), Friz (ig), Shane Ha (ig), and Ink Fun (ig). ADW’s 2016 piece Keep Her Lit completes the wall.

For other walls painted during this year’s HTN, see Vagabonds Of The Western World | Red Heads | The Children Of Gear | Evoke | Love, Loss, And Beyond.

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Red Heads

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Here, in sequence, are the HTN22 pieces on the west side of Kent Street, above the gates into the construction site: unicorns from Zurdie (ig), Not Pop (ig), ‘Hope Never Dies’ from Glen Molloy (ig), sushi from Zippy (ig), FGB (ig), ‘The Belle Of Belfast City’ from Alana McDowell (ig), Leo Boyd (ig), Codo (ig).

The Lyra McKee tribute (If You Listen Very Carefully, You Can Hear Her Breathe) completes this side of the wall.

For other walls painted during this year’s HTN, see Vagabonds Of The Western World | The Children Of Gear | A Burning World | Evoke | Love, Loss, And Beyond.

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