A short walk in the city in Bodø and you will see a lot of street art. In 2016, there was this street art festival called UpNorth and they left their mark on Bodø’s buildings. The street art makes the city much brighter and it is one of my favorite things about Bodø.
Now you’re probably wondering what kind of street art and where you can find them! The ones in the city are really easy to find. But I recommend you to explore the surrounding areas of Bodø and you’ll find even more artworks.
Artist: Phlegm
The artist Phlegm makes a lot of street art with storybook-like artworks that are half childlike, half threatening. I really like this artwork because it has my favorite color, red, haha! No, I just love that there are a lot of details on the creature! An old creature that tries to tell a story to the people. On his back you see all the little trees with big mountains, and this shows the big Norwegian nature.
Artist: David de la Mano
Maelstrøm is a piece of street art inspired by the world’s strongest maelstrom Saltstraumen. The village of Saltstraumen, is a 30 min drive from Bodø! When you’re in Bodø you should definitely visit Saltstraumen. If you have seen the maelstrom then you probably can also understand this artwork more. What I can see in this artwork is that those black figures are trying to grow into something but it’s hard because life flies by or they don’t get the chance to show themselves yet. And the figures look like they are in a maelstrøm. This expresses the idea of how crazy life can be and the concept of time, how fast it can go.
Artist: Millo
Milo creates really large characters in his street art. This artwork is called insomnia. The boy that is the main character looks unhappy probably because he has been trying to sleep the whole night but he did not manage to fall asleep. In this artwork it’s already day since you can see the shadow of his body that is created by the sun. If you look very close you can see the animals in the city, the batman, the man who sawed off his leg and the leaf that looks like a hanger with toys for babies. One more thing that is really iconic in this artwork are the airplanes that are really low to the ground. That is because Bodø is known for the airport that is within walking distance from the city.
Artist: SinnSykShit (Kim A. Larsen)
This artwork is made by a Norwegian artist from Oslo. A lot of colors are being used for this one. All the buildings look very modern, and with the colors it makes it look very playful. It’s a shame that that artwork is destroyed, but it does give the artwork more details. I can think of a meaning after the artwork has been destroyed: A city trying to rebuild after an earthquake. Or even the white streaks can be seen as rain falling in the city.
Artist: Rustam QBic
The details of this painting are so stunning. Bodø is known for northern lights, typical Norwegian houses and the mountains. Everything in this artwork seems like it’s trying to tell more about Bodø. Also, people from Norway tend to go on adventures a lot since they live with such great nature. I love the bright colors a lot. It gives a playful feeling and this fits really good with the child that makes the northern lights.
Artist: Martin Whatson
Watson made this artwork of a butterfly, when you look at it from far it doesn’t look like graffiti but if you look closer you see all kinds of details. This artist is described as someone who sees the beautiful and interesting details. Other people think it can be messy and visual noise. But if I look for more meaning, then I can see a lot of people can learn from this artwork. People most of the time have a first impression of other people and this is not always good because everyone has much more than just the outside or a first time impression.