{"id":1838,"date":"2023-06-19T14:08:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T13:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/?p=1838"},"modified":"2023-06-22T10:26:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T09:26:40","slug":"top-10-street-artworks-by-teesside-banksy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/2023\/06\/19\/top-10-street-artworks-by-teesside-banksy\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 street artworks by ‘Teesside Banksy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The elusive ZX8BIT, often referred to as the ‘Teesside Banksy\u2019 thanks to their concealed identity and flare for graffiti, is a powerhouse in street art. From a giant goose to a topless Mario, their work can be spotted throughout the Tees Valley.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Join us as we countdown ZX8BIT\u2019s best street art in the region and spill the tea on exactly where you can find it…<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

10. It\u2019s-a me<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"MarioWhen it comes to great street art, it\u2019s location, location, location. And you can\u2019t ask for better than this.<\/span><\/p>\n

A half-dressed Mario adorning a clothes donation point is nothing short of iconic. I\u2019m just glad he still has his socks on…<\/span><\/p>\n

Talking Teesside spoke to ZX8BIT about their work. They said: “It was roughly three years ago when I started the street art. I\u2019d had the idea for pixelated spray can art and was excited to see how these video game characters would look interacting with the real world.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I practiced for months in my garage, learning what works and what doesn\u2019t, making tons of mistakes and having many epiphanies, until finally I felt I was ready to take my stencils to the streets and begin painting.”<\/span><\/p>\n

See Mario for yourself at what3words\/\/\/smile.dart.rift<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

9. Flanderchu<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"The“Flanderchu was born out of two themes we were painting regularly at the time, The Simpsons and Pok\u00e9mon,” said ZX8BIT. “I thought a merging of the two would be funny, as if to suggest I\u2019d forgotten where I was at with the Simpsons and Pok\u00e9mon stuff and somehow painted the two merged.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I took a little risk with it being quite an open (and well-marshalled) area, but that\u2019s all part of what we do.”<\/span><\/p>\n

It must brighten the days of all of the Middlesbrough College students who pass by every morning. Might we suggest a combination of Pok\u00e9mon\u2019s Charmander and The Simpsons\u2019 Marge next? Charmarge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bask in its glory at what3words\/\/\/pine.bath.from<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

8. Swapping Sweden for Normanby<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"TheHaving been spotted at Normanby Butchers, The Muppets\u2019 Swedish Chef is certainly far from home.<\/span><\/p>\n

We can see that ZX8BIT thinks very carefully about where works best for their pixelated pictures – displaying the Swedish Chef wielding a meat cleaver next to an understandably concerned chicken on the side of a butchers is a stroke of genius.<\/span><\/p>\n

And ZX8BIT must have really liked this spot in Normanby, as they chose to leave another piece not ten steps away. More on that later…<\/span><\/p>\n

Head to what3words\/\/\/door.camp.remind<\/a> to see it up close.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Bricks<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"LargeClearly ZX8BIT took LEGO literally when they encouraged fans to ‘rebuild the world\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a long time now, inexplicable grey building blocks have been littered by the side of the road along Flatts Lane, between Middlesbrough and Guisborough. It\u2019s nice to see that ZX8BIT has given them purpose in this way.<\/span><\/p>\n

The street artist said: “I wanted to add colour to my town and inspire my people. I want to help put Middlesbrough on the map as a town that produces great art and great ideas.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Spot the upscaled LEGO bricks at what3words\/\/\/drum.loft.items<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

6. Flawless<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"AThis eye-catching piece adorns Flawless Beauty Clinic in Normanby, not too far away from the LEGO bricks, and is a firm favourite for many fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about their own favourite piece, ZX8BIT said: “I have a Mario piece that\u2019s enormous and detailed and will definitely be my favourite once painted. Unfortunately, I was chased by an angry farmer when last attempting this so I\u2019m re-evaluating location on that one!<\/span><\/p>\n

“A lot of weird s*** goes down when you\u2019re painting in the darkest corners of Middlesbrough in the early hours of the morning. I\u2019ve been arrested, threatened, chased. It all comes with the territory.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Find it at what3words\/\/\/bother.upper.along<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

5. Hole in one<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"AThis next piece was actually commissioned, so no more stories of angry farmers or late-night arrests here I\u2019m afraid.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the mural, Sonic the Hedgehog can be seen facing off with his arch-enemy, Doctor Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik. It\u2019s part of the nostalgic video game-themed holes of Putter Chaos<\/a>‘ crazy golf course.<\/span><\/p>\n

ZX8BIT said: “My inspiration comes from my love of retro video games. I am a child of the eighties and so I\u2019ve always been much fonder of Super Nintendo and SEGA Mega Drive than I am of PlayStation and Xbox. I spent a lot of my life hand drawing pixelated video game characters such as Mario, Mega Man and Sonic. Since this and so much of my art was being ignored, I decided to do something that couldn\u2019t be ignored – hence the street art.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Head to Putter Chaos at what3words\/\/\/takes.badge.erase<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

4. Stranger things have happened<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"DustinIt\u2019s not often that you look at public toilets with a smile and comment, ‘Wow, that looks amazing\u2019 or ‘Ooh, I\u2019ve got to take a picture\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

ZX8BIT is changing all of that with their Stranger Things-inspired artwork embellishing Guisborough\u2019s public toilets next to the Job Centre. Characters from the Netflix smash-hit, Eleven and Dustin, can be seen waiting outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pay them a visit at what3words\/\/\/aunts.frostbite.stressed<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

3. Who you gonna call?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"AGhostbusters is one of the best films ever if you ask me, so it\u2019s no surprise that its pixelated logo shot straight to number three in my Top 10.<\/span><\/p>\n

ZX8BIT said: “Inspiring people is the most rewarding thing about what I do. I don\u2019t feel any great satisfaction in what I create (I wish I did). I like how it looks but I\u2019m always reaching for bigger and better thus I never feel accomplished. Hearing that it makes a difference to people and brings happiness or inspires is everything to me.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news is, it\u2019s just ten steps away from the Swedish Chef at Normanby Butchers. So if you\u2019re going on a hunt for ZX8BIT street art, you can tick two off your list at once.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where you gonna go? Use what3words\/\/\/palm.sheets.action<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

2. Love not war<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ukraine'sWhile I absolutely adore the sense of fun captured in images like Flanderchu, it\u2019s ZX8BIT\u2019s Make Love Not War which really gets me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Depicting the Ukranian flag with a pixelated heart, it was created in response to Russia invading Ukraine in February last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

I think this piece says a lot about ZX8BIT\u2019s character, so while we may not know much about them, we can get a glimpse into who they are and their values.<\/span><\/p>\n

Find it at what3words\/\/\/successes.blaze.gave<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

1. The mighty goose<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"AIn top spot, and my all-time favourite, is the Goose of Guisborough. It stands proudly, watching over the town and inviting people in. If the fact it stands at around 7ft wasn\u2019t enough, it\u2019s also a nod to Untitled Goose Game, which only makes it cooler IMO.<\/span><\/p>\n

ZX8BIT said: “The goose in Guisborough is a favourite of mine. I lived close to that estate and upon seeing that wall I wanted to add something that I felt could be an iconic image when entering Guisborough. It was important for me to choose to paint something that suited the landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I actually painted the feet and it began to pour down, and so I didn\u2019t get it finished until a few days after. I hated the idea that I\u2019d left a random set of orange goose feet on a wall…not that anyone would ascertain that\u2019s what they were. It turned out nice though. The Goose of Guisborough.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a gander at what3words\/\/\/leave.deck.birthing<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

You can see more of ZX8BIT\u2019s work by visiting their website<\/a> or Instagram page<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are lots more examples of ‘Teesside Banksy\u2019 artwork around the region. Which have you already found? Let us know in the comments…<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lauren\"<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The elusive ZX8BIT, often referred to as the ‘Teesside Banksy\u2019 thanks to their concealed identity and flare for graffiti, is a powerhouse in street art. From a giant goose to a topless Mario, their work can be spotted throughout the Tees Valley. Join us as we countdown ZX8BIT\u2019s best street art in the region and … Continue reading “Top 10 street artworks by ‘Teesside Banksy\u2019”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25094,"featured_media":1841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[62],"tags":[123,125,124,126],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/06\/Collage-e1687181733807.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1838"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1864,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions\/1864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}