stewy

The Rouleur Classic

Rouleur magazine is probably the most essential read for those of us interested in the wide world of cycling. A high-class, high specification publication (with an appropriately high end price-tag, it has to be said) it features nothing but the best writing and photography. Dom has subscribed for years, naturally.

Steel Is Real interviewee and friend of the film Rohan Dubash writes for Rouleur, and kindly dropped Dom an invitation to The Rouleur Classic, a gathering of like-minded cycling folk in central London. In his guise as Doctor D, bike surgeon, Rohan would rebuild a Fignon Raleigh from scratch on the first night of the show.

Dom’s visit on the third day had a Fignon connection. He has a picture of the legendary French cyclist made especially for him by the street artist Stewy for services rendered, and he brought it along to grace Doctor D’s stand.

Naturally, Dom was there to drum up interest in Steel Is Real, and he was in full promo mode as he toured the show. Chatting to people from Prendas and Rouleur artist Martin Proctor, he was spreading the good word about our little film.

But there were plenty of treats for the connoisseur–so Dom was very much in his happy place! A Colnago Master Arabesque frameset. A great selection of ex pro bikes, a Thomas Voeckler Colnago, an Indurain Pinarello time trial arrow-like machine, a Boardman hour record yellow French track velo. Maglia Rosas from the Giro. Trophies carefully dotted around the ballroom in lit glass cabinets. Such wonders.

The big draw for many, though, was an interview with the legendary Sean Kelly, who gave a great overview of his life and career to cycling broadcaster Matt Barbet. Watching it, Dom had an idea. Steel is Real is ostensibly about UK cycling, but getting a name like Kelly on tape would be great for the film. Dom being Dom, he approached. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the next couple of months, but the Wade charm may just win the day…

Dom’s day at the Rouleur Classic went all too quickly, and it was soon time to help Rohan pack up his wares. The following day he would be off gathering more interview footage. The Steel is Reel wheels just keep on a-rollin!

Enjoy the slideshow of shots taken on the day by Dom below.

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Dom and Stewy at Portobello

A couple of months ago we talked about a short film that Dom made in partnership with elusive Bristol street artist Stewy. That film was shown at the People’s Museum in Manchester as part of a day in which he re-created one of his works–a stencil portrait of feminist icon Mary Wollstonecroft.

Dom and Stewy’s film was accepted for screening at the Portobello Film Festival, taking place in early September. It was shown in the iconic Pop-Up Cinema underneath the Westway, and presented an opportunity for an art happening that Stewy couldn’t resist.

Stewy’s work is largely based on the notion of site-specific portraiture–that is, celebrating famous people in the areas where they lived and worked. The Westway and Ladbroke Grove is rich in pop culture history, and Stewy chose his subject carefully.

The Pop-Up has hosted graf work by renowned artists like Blek Le Rat, so Stewy was in good company when he and Dom rocked up at the Pop-up, spray-cans and stencils in hand. Under cover of darkness, Stewy got to work.

The work went quickly (the joy of stencil graf is that all of the prep is done off-site, so you can throw up a piece incredibly quickly) and within ten minutes the Pop-Up had a new resident.

None other than the mighty Ian Dury.

The documentary was well-received by the usual crowd of West London scenesters. Dom and Stewy made their way back to Bristol with the warm feeling that they’d definitely made an impression.

As a sign of appreciation for Dom’s hard work on the documentary, Stewy presented him with an original work. This is Laurent Fignon, French cycling legend and one of Dom’s heroes. Lovely gesture, don’t you think?

BREAKING NEWS

We’ve heard that Stewy, Woolstonecraft And Graffiti has been nominated for a Documentary Award at the 2015 Portobello Film Festival. This is obviously great news and serves as vindication for the hard work that both Dom and Stewy put into the film. Well done, chaps!

In celebration… let’s ‘ave a little dance, eh?

Stewy, Wollstonecroft And Graffiti

Made by Wade have just delivered a short documentary about street artist Stewy, which was screened as part of a day showing the creation of one of his works at the People’s Museum in Manchester. That image, of iconic early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, was featured in a BBC programme on the suffragettes and their legacy. A clip from that programme, Suffragettes Forever: The Story of Women and Power, starts off the film.

Stewy’s work focusses on stencilled portraits of famous figures in settings that are meaningful to them. For example, his Dylan Thomas piece is on a wall in Laugherne, the town where the poet spent the last four years of his life. Meanwhile, Manchester is home to portraits of hometown icons like Tony Wilson and Frank Sidebottom.

The documentary features an exclusive interview with the reclusive Stewy, shot in a burnt-out garage somewhere in Bristol. We’ve made sure that his identity remains a secret. Stewy stresses that interest should be shown in the art rather than the artist.

Dominic and Made By Wade have followed and documented Stewy since his first work, a cheeky stencilled pigeon, appeared in Shoreditch in 2007. Since then he has gone from strength to strength, and his art is enjoyed and embraced by the communities in which he works.

Unusually, he seeks permission before spraying. This explains why works such as his Wollstonecraft, which is on the side of the Unitarian chapel in Newington Green where she lived and worked, has become a part of the scenery of the area rather than simply being painted over as graffiti.

As part of the show, Stewy also created a new edition of his Wollstonecraft image, with a green background as a nod to the locality in which the original is sited.

Following the Manchester screening, the documentary has been shown at Bluescreen in Bristol, with further excursions planned this summer. Keep it locked to Made By Wade’s news page for more info on where you can see this film on the big screen.

For more information on Stewy and his work, check out http://www.stewy.eu/

Now for a musical interlude, as part of Made By Wade’s intention to both entertain and educate. Please enjoy Like Soldiers Do by Billy Bragg, as featured in the documentary.

***BREAKING NEWS***

BREAKING NEWS