This weekend one of Sand, Sea & Spray’s old favourites, Inkie, will be returning for the third year running and will be doing an extra special piece on a iconic 1930s Blackpool tram situated on Ocean Boulevard. His previous artwork, which was a strikingly beautiful Mexican Día de Muertos themed collaboration piece with Kashink, was housed in Talbot Road Bus Station. This has now sadly been demolished as part of the new Gateway Project but his 2012 Sand, Sea & Spray piece above the old Ethel Austin shop on Church Street remains fully intact.
Inkie is one of the most notorious graffiti writers in UK history to emerge out of the 80s Bristol scene. He was a member of Crime Inc. Crew alongside 3D of Massive Attack fame. He has painted alongside Banksy and also Nick Walker, aka Apish Angel. Inkie is also one of the creators of Street Art Project – See No Evil. His art has been published in books: Banksy’s Bristol, Children of the Can, and Graffiti World as well as the magazines Graphotism and Dazed & Confused. Inkie is also featured in the 2007 LA graffiti documentary Bomb It.
Osch is a Chilean-born artist now based in London where as well as creating art, he lectures on architecture at degree level. Since 1996 Osch has exhibited his work in collections and solo exhibitions in Chile, Germany, the U.S, England, the Netherlands, Russia and France. Osch visits Blackpool pretty regularly and the first piece Osch created for Sand, Sea & Spray in 2011 was a complicated portrait of the late John Lennon, made up of twisting ribbons containing the lyrics from some his best known hits. Also situated in Talbot Road Bus Station, this piece sadly met the same fate as Inkie’s piece and was demolished recently but such is the transient nature of urban art.
Osch also had a piece on Deansgate which has just last week been painted over to make way for the new. His new piece, ‘Double Personalities‘ won’t be too far away from where the last piece sat as he will be back on Deansgate on a new previously unused wall. Like the London Police piece, it will be visible from the top of Deansgate.
Smug is an Australian street artist who is now based in Glasgow. Smug is renowned for his high-quality murals which demonstrate a photo-realistic style. This will be his second visit to Blackpool for the festival and his 2011 Sand, Sea & Spray piece is undoubtedly (in part because of it’s location and certainly for its quality) one of the most iconic pieces from Sand, Sea & Spray. When the SS&S Crew painted over the Red DJ Girl on Cookson Street earlier this week we were greeted with shock and surprise from the passing locals and traffic, especially with it being set next to the traffic lights. Many beeps were heard as the cars at the front were too shocked by the black paint to realise that the traffic lights had turned to green. After a little teasing, the public were assured that the same artist was returning this week to create something new.
Sand, Sea & Spray – 14th, 15th & 16th June
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