Art / Street Art
Street artists return to Barton Hill Youth Club – the place where it all began
Thirty-six years ago, Inkie, Jody, Cheo and Turoe were painting at Barton Hill Youth Club.
Now they’re back, preparing the 100-year-old site as the set for an upcoming film on the UK’s biggest graffiti bust: Operation Anderson.
The short film will be a comedy drama set in 1989 exploring the early experiences of the four young graffiti artists.
Turoe comparing the original Barton Hill Youth Club graffiti with its present day recreation – photo: Aurora Amaryllis
The now-derelict site on Morley Street was the first place in the UK legally open to graffiti and somewhere Jody called the artists’ own “Bristol Cathedral”.
On a recent afternoon, the hot sun radiated off the concrete, there was a thick smell of spray paint in the air and the pulsing of Massive Attack from a loudspeaker.
“If you told me 36 years ago that we’d be coming back to paint this as a backdrop for a film about what was going on, I’d have laughed in your face,” Inkie told Bristol24/7.
Jody had similar feelings: “We’re paying homage to the movement we were part of – and still are – although we didn’t know it at the time.”
Jody was just 15 when he began spraypainting his GCSE artworks on the walls of the Barton Hill Youth Club.
As a forerunner to the street art movement, he never painted graffiti letters, always bringing an artistic realism to his works.
Although illustrative street art is now integral to Bristol’s culture, just as graffiti lettering is, Jody said that owning his art style was difficult when he was coming up.
“This was a tough area,” he said. “This was not an area to be messed around.”
The former Barton Hill Youth Club features a 1926 dedication to Sir George A Wills Bart – photo: Aurora Amaryllis
Jody expressed his gratitude for John Nation, Barton Hill Youth Club’s youth leader and now a street art tour guide: “He gave me not only walls and paint, he gave me acceptance and support.”
Nation and Inkie were both prosecuted in Operation Anderson, accused of organising graffiti artists in a grand conspiracy across Bristol. Many artists faced home raids, arrest, fines and punishments.
Asked about the long-standing impact of Operation Anderson, Inkie said that although it stopped people painting illegally for about a year or two, the street art movement then came back with avengeance.
He cited the resurgence of the graffiti scene in Bristol with the publicity and notoriety that they gained as artists as a result of Operation Anderson. As a result, many artists and students came to Bristol specifically for the graffiti scene.
“Operation Anderson had the reverse effect in the long run,” Inkie said.
Jody was one of the artists who returned to paint at Barton Hill Youth Club where he first began painting – photo: Aurora Amaryllis
Jody’s view is that the graffiti scene in Bristol has now “come full circle” and is an important part of “the fabric of the city” as a main tourist attraction.
“As I’ve got older, I’ve travelled and travelled and realised that street art is universal,” but more than that, Jody has realised that “Bristol is such a well-known city” for its street art, recognisable to people across the world.
Despite the ever-growing importance of street art to Bristol’s local and global appeal, street artists like Inkie, Jody, Cheo and Turoe still grapple with legal grey areas and mixed messaging from regulators.
Inkie added: “If there were clearly marked areas in every city where you could go and practise you’d have more talented works. You wouldn’t see so much of this tagging and stuff.
“If you don’t manage it, it won’t go away, it’ll just get bigger. It’s also part of Bristol’s beauty.”
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Jody said that regulations are very dependent on the attitudes of who is in power: “The Greens have a very difficult job because on one hand they want to promote the city but they also want to keep the city clean.”
When asked about his experience with the police, Jody said the difference between a friendly conversation and an arrest really depends on “what they’ve had for breakfast. Really, I’m not being facetious.”
Jody explained that being “very verbose” when police approach him nowadays during a spray painting session he can have a good chat and avoid any trouble. Yet, the next day, he’ll hear about someone being arrested at the same site.
“In my experience, the police have turned a blind eye and they actually quite like it,” Jody added.
Looking to the future, Inkie said that he is always looking out for young artists, many of whom he works with.
“As one of the first generation artists it’s refreshing to see all the young talent coming through,” Inkie said.
His advice to young street artists today is for them to continue practising and have confidence in their work. He added that young artists should develop their drawing skills with pencils before moving to digital tablets and spraypainting walls.
Jody’s message to young street artists is that they need to think deeply about what they paint: “The thing about art is that you are putting yourself out there to be judged.”
He encouraged new artists to start, saying that “there’s no barrier to entry” and recommending Upfest and its shop and gallery on North Street as a great way to get into the community.
“Everyone likes to have a spray can in their hands. There’s something empowering about it.”
A closer look at one of Barton Hill Youth Club’s painted walls – photo: Aurora Amaryllis
Main photo: Aurora Amaryllis
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