painted wall

Stigma Breakers & Law Makers

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

This is Wee Nuls’s (web | ig) street art celebrating the success of the ‘menstruation matters’ (ig) campaign for free period products and the passage of the Period Products Bill.

The piece is perhaps a “gremlin” self-portrait in the style of Mr Blonde/Vic Vega. It was painted for HTN22 in the spot below Transport House where her original version of Free Period Items was painted and blacked out. (It was then repainted at Artcetra.) To the left is Claire Prouvost’s tribute to women workers of the world and to left is a Unity (union) hoarding: Workers Of The World Unite.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X11426

The Big Plastic Pledge

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The Foyle Maritime Festival encourages people to pledge to reduce their use of plastics, so that the amount of plastic entering the seas and waterways is reduced. London-/Derry was host to the ships sailing in the Clipper 2022 Race in July and to accompany the festival, Derry City & Strabane Council had two murals painted by Peaball (ig) at Foyleview apartments. The Council had a competition to name the seal; the winner was “Ronan” or “Rónán” meaning “little seal” in Irish (ig video). The octopus does not appear to have a name.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
X10840 X10838 X10841 [X10842] X10839 X10843 X10844

Everyone Wants To Eat

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The Bellevue steps lead from the Antrim Road to Floral Hall, which served as a concert and dance hall before closing in 1973 and since becoming dilapidated. There have been various plans and calls for redevelopment, even in the last five years (one | two | three) and there is a Facebook group dedicated to restoring Floral Hall, but nothing has happened. As the wide shot (below) shows, the famous steps too are overgrown; the facade at least has been painted with zoo animals, by London artist Irony (ig) (Belfast Media). The lion’s name is Quays (Zoo); the giraffe is called Ballyronan (BelTel); the flamingos’ names are unknown.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X10760 [X10758] X10759 X10757

Home Of Champions

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Prokick kickboxing (web) has moved from Dundela to Connswater, a bit closer to town; the new digs will be formally opened on September 12th, the anniversary of founder Billy Murray’s first world championship (Sunday World). The mural in honour of Murray (in Dundela) was designed by Stephen Hackett and painted by Glen Molloy (ig).

Belfast Live article

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X10746 X10747 X10748 X10745

Gertrude Star

Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Gertrude Star flute band (Fb) celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2021 and to mark the occasion this (2022) May, the two side-walls were painted with the emblems above and immediately below. For the mural, which was painted for the 50th anniversary in 2011, M08166.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X10729 X10731 X10728 X10730

Still No Inquest, Still No Justice

Extramural Activity1 Comment

A march took place this past Saturday (July 9th, 2022) to mark the 50th anniversary of the Springhill-Westrock massacre, in which five people were killed by the British Army. A new inquest was directed by the AG in 2014 but has been repeatedly delayed; it is scheduled to begin next year (Belfast Live).

The march was organised by the Springhill-Westrock Campaign (Fb); it began at the memorial plaque in Springhill and ended at the memorial garden in Westrock (Irish News). See also Keep On Praying.

The mural shows the pre-fab aluminium bungalows built in Westrock in 1949.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X10679 X10681 X10680 divis st

Belfast Deco

Extramural Activity1 Comment

Here is a final selection of pieces from HTN2022, with work by Kitsune (ig) in Queen St (official title When You Weren’t Looking), Andy Council (ig) in Patterson’s Place, Asbestos (ig), Iota (ig) (who also did a piece in Larne – Shaped By Sea And Stone) and KMG (ig) in North St/Union St, and Sophie Mess (ig) in Linenhall St (official title “Shaping Ideas” (Linen Quarter BID)).

For the other HTN 2022 pieces see:

Union St (w) Love, Loss, And Beyond
Union St (e) A Burning World
Kent St (w) Vagabonds Of The Western World | Red Heads
Kent St (e) Evoke
Kent St (n) The Children Of Gear

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2022 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X10720 X10721 X10719 X10206 X11420 X10229 X10710 X10711 [X10712]

Cool

Extramural Activity2 Comments

The Royal Victoria Hospital was the first public building in the world to have air conditioning, developed by Sirocco Works. Fans drew in outside air and passed it over mats of wetted coir (Cooling Post | images at HEVAC-Heritage). The qualifier “public” is necessary perhaps because Carrier invented the general process for a printing factory in New York (ASME) in 1902 and the New York Stock Exchange installed a system in 1902 (6sqft)

The image above is only one of many panels in College Street Mews by Ed Hicks (ig) on the general theme of Belfast and its industry.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2023 Seosamh Mac Coılle
X10717 [X10716] X10715 X10714 X10713 X12137