If you’re partial to graffiti wall art, chances are that Bristol street artist, Copyright, is firmly on your radar. Through highly-stylised stencil and spray paint artworks of empowered women, Copyright explores notions of beauty, mental health and what life’s many trials and tribulations can teach us if we pay attention.

Today, we’re delighted to be bringing you two new releases from Copyright, The Moon Shadows the Sun and The Sun Lights Up the Moon which are available exclusively at Enter Gallery now.

In today’s blog, we’re chatting to Copyright to learn more about the inspirational message behind this new set of artworks…

 

The Moon Shadows the Sun

Both colourful art prints are a thoughtful exploration of how our lives are permeated with both light and dark, and what we can learn from good times and bad. Copyright explains:

 

“Both pieces explore the duality of light and dark, in the same way that Yin and Yang describe how opposites can be interconnected. There is no dark without light and no light without dark. In this new artwork I’ve used the metaphor of opposites working together. By creating a rainbow effect, I show that there can be hope even on the darkest of days, but also, as the title suggests, the moon (darkness) can never be escaped.”

 

 

Copyright makes a powerful statement about the importance of making hay while the sun shines, and reminds us that even on the darkest of days, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.   

Triumph Over Adversity

This pair of graffiti artworks aren’t the first time that Copyright has offered a reassuring message about riding life’s ups and downs.

Whether in his lockdown inspired pieces, Breakdown and Rebuild, his Everything’s Fine diptych, or his 2023 duo of works, Reflected, Blue Sky and Reflected, Dark Sky, Copyright uses his art to offer powerful reassurance that positive things can come from the darkest of times.

 

Mental Metamorphosis

One way that Copyright demonstrates the transformative power of life’s toughest moments is via his use of a butterfly motif, which we’ve seen in his butterfly prints time and again. We were interested to discover what his favourite motif means to him…

 

“For me, the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly signifies rebirth, and emerging from the darkness new and improved. It might not feel it at the time but darkness can bring profound transformation.”

 

Photo courtesy of Copyright.

 

Making Magic

Impressively, Copyright is entirely self-taught and every piece he creates is a masterclass in different artistic techniques.

From the photographs he uses for his stencils, to his talent as a spray paint artist, to the more delicate hand-painted elements of his artworks, Copyright constantly pushes boundaries, prioritising experimentation to move his work forward. By mixing new materials and techniques with his trademark style, his work treads a captivating line between street art and fine art.  

Given he switches his technique every time, we were interested to discover how The Moon Shadows the Sun came to life. Copyright reveals:

 

“Each artwork starts as a very rough doodle. I then make a very basic plan leaving a lot of blanks so that the work can evolve naturally. Usually I don’t know exactly what a painting is going to look like until it’s finished.

 

In The Moon Shadows the Sun, I started by moving a lot of paint in an organic gesture, just to create something that would represent the woman’s dress before I realised what else I needed to add to complete it. The process was actually quite loose and organic.”

 

The Moon Shadows the Sun and The Sun Lights Up the Moon are both available now at Enter Gallery.