Artist Norman Gosney is returning to Bristol ahead of his brand new exhibition in the city. In fact, when I spoke to him on Wednesday afternoon, he was enjoying the Bristol sunshine while also getting things ready at the exhibition space. His work will be on display from today (Sept 19) until Saturday at THE PIT, Bushy Park on the Wells Road.
Norman grew up in Bristol, with 'his Clifton ' being very different to the one he knows today. He says: "I'm from Bristol and I decided to do my show down here because I know so many people here. I love Bristol, I think Bristol is the most gorgeous city.
"I'm even showing my mates from New York around Clifton - where I used to live and where my girlfriends were, where you could buy drugs, where I had a free concert, where I opened a comic shop, where I opened the skateboard shop - so it'll be a fun afternoon of showing people I know around. I used to live in Royal Crescent for £26 a month back in 1967 - I couldn't afford to live there now!" Norman held a concert on the Downs in 1971 to which some 800 people showed up. "I got busted for it," he tells BristolLive , "I got fined £10 for operating electronic equipment on Her Majesty's Commons, and this was before Glastonbury or any of that, and Bristol was a really great place to do that sort of thing.
So, that's why I'm back here celebrating it. "The great thing, of course, when you have art parties in Bristol, is that you can always say 'well yes Banksy was there' because nobody knows wh.