I really enjoy seeing new depictions of the figure. Some of the more interesting ones are found on street walls, so when a friend of mine in Glastonbury suggested I look at some ‘Vilas-like figures’ (his phrase) opposite Labyrinth Books, I was only too happy to investigate. I was delighted to see my first ‘Stiks’ directly. I do like his figures, though I have only seeing them in books and on the web before. Below is one image of his that I particularly like.
Stik’s work has a poetic beauty to my eyes, capturing a look, feeling or expression with just a few lines, dots and marks. The plain backgrounds really accentuate the forms for me and suggest that these gentle beings come from another world, a good place, and are curious about this one, despite not quite fitting in. Their scale and placement is wonderful, bold and defiant, though ultimately fragile and transitory.
While I was searching for the above image, I came across some others that were familiar, and they reminded me of some photos that I took a while back in London.
They seem to be the work of Thierry Noir, who grew up decorating the Berlin Wall, and teamed up with Stik to work in London earlier this year. More details here.
vilas ed silverton 
