The latest #43leaves piece happened in and around Bristol, Bedminster and Upfest last weekend, Upfest being the self proclaimed biggest Urban Art Festival in Europe, a festival I just happened to have been in invited to paint at in 2022. Couldn’t go to Bristol without leaving some leaves. I do keep on repeating the idea, do forgive me if you know already.  A #43leaves piece is one piece of work in 43 parts, 43 paintings on found unwanted material pieced up off the street, recycled (that is an important bit, the paintings have to be on material that was heading for landfill), cleaned up and then painted on and left hanging back out on the street for people to just take should wish to. 43 leaves (or whatever you wish to see), left hanging in Bristol. 

This latest in what is now a growing line of #43Leaves pieces started outside Bristol’s Temple Meads railway station with the first leaf left hanging. And then of it went, adventuring around the harbour area of the city, the Arnolfini (thanks for joining in Arnolfini, the streets of Bedminster where Upfest was happening both on the streets and in big Greville Smyth Park where all the live painting and the music and the rest was happening (including my contribution as one of the artists invited to take part this year). This time, as the art drops were part of an event, less mystery and more engagement was required, usually the pieces are just left with little explanation and just the hashtag, a signature and “please take” on the back, this time labels were fixed to the pieces explaining things a little, asking people to join in the piece by posting a photo on themselves on their social media feed and such, these #43Leaves pieces are about engagement as much as anything, about the people who choose to take the the paintings. Who took them? Where did they go? We’ve seen a few posts, we know one of the pieces left outside the Arnolfini is now hanging inside the gallery, another is hanging inside a record shop in Bedminster, one returned to East London (which is was tad frustrating), we were told of one that was heading  France, I expect we shall learn of the fate of more over the next couple of weeks, did you find one? Bristol was fun, art can be fun…  

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