MANCHESTER’S FINEST STREET ARTISTS DO BATTLE AT GREAT NORTHERN STREET FESTIVAL.
CITY’S BEST-KNOWN STREET ARTISTS CREATED PIECES AROUND WHAT ‘THE GREAT NORTH’ MEANS TO THEM AS PART OF FREE WEEKEND FESTIVAL
Four of Manchester’s best-known street artists went up against one another during an art battle at the Great Northern Street Festival, a weekend of free activities, at the Great Northern Warehouse.
The event included some of the city’s finest music, food and drink and of course, art, ensuring the flocking crowds enjoyed the perfect mix of taste and sensations and entertainment.
Tasked with creating pieces based on what ‘The Great North’ means to them, the four street artists gripped festival goers with their live work and raised money for Forever Manchester via donations made from attendees in recognition of their work.
Each of the artists, who use a pseudonym to preserve their anonymity, has a unique style and took a very different take on the brief of ‘The Great North’.
Qubek is a street artist who has been working on the streets of Manchester for over 18 years. Not set to one particular idea or style, he loves creating site-specific murals in the urban environment and is especially well known for the 22 bees that adorn the Northern Quarter’s Koffee Pot, commemorating each of the lives lost in the Manchester Arena attack.
His piece for the festival is titled ‘Mother Manchester’ and is heavily influenced by the city’s industrial heritage. It merges suffragettes, iconic bees and industrial imagery to reflect Manchester’s strong social history.
Mr Dabl has been working as a spray can artist in the city for over 20 years, as well as painting across Europe and the UK at festivals and workshops, sign writing and even working as a licensed tattoo artist. His festival piece alludes to the invention of the computer here in Manchester whilst also reflecting his love of retro games, such as ZX Spectrum.
SPHERE3 uses various materials involving several disciplines to achieve his vision. All his work is concerned with dynamic flow within the experimental abstraction of letterforms, natural elements, architecture and human forms. His festival mural is dubbed ‘The Spirit of Manchester’ and focuses on the city’s burning inner vibrations.
MOZE is an illustrator, spray painter, ‘glitterator’ and mural maker who is inspired by people, places, animals, stories, language, colours, floor treasures and presents. She recently caused a twitter storm at Glastonbury Festival by painting a ‘controversial’ mural of Katie Hopkins which went viral; t’s fair to say that Hopkins wasn’t a fan. Staying away from controversy for the festival, her piece uses the iconic shade of Mancunian-invented Vimto coupled with its famous rain, bees and a self-portrait loosely based on herself as she’s ‘the most northern monkey I know’.
Centre Director for Great Northern, Mark Schofield, said: “Our Mews are home to an ever-growing roster of independent businesses that each have a unique offering. These murals are a fantastic addition to the creative vibe of this part of the site and are sure to delight future visitors just as much as they entertained festival goers during our event.”
Each of the artworks is still on display at the Great Northern Warehouse’s Deansgate Mews, which is also home to Polish restaurant Platzki, specialist chocolate shop Dormouse Chocolates, Virtual Hideout Manchester, Whistle Punks, The Life Centre, Thai Smiles, Lion’s Den and the newly opened Alex’s Bakery.
