Graffiti has always held a peculiar fascination for me. It has both an aesthetic quality and paradoxically, a quality of destructiveness. Destruction should not be solely interpreted as negative. It has a transformative quality. It can hold up a mirror to life and the moods of a nation. It has the potential to make some quite powerful points about day to day existence. It also has an egalitarian quality that is not always apparent within the world of art where an exhibition can cost £13 to visit for the sake of feeding a self-perpetuating narcissism not tempered by mortality. Don't get me wrong, graffiti in its temporality is perhaps even more self-loving but at least, it's free in all senses of the word.
I went down into the underpass and was surprised to see the artists themselves producing their works. I think I have only seen this phenomenon once before and that was in Barcelona, where I believe a wall was given to local artists for them to decorate as they chose. I am not sure if the artists are supposed to be performing the act of creation down in this tunnel but I suspect that there are few objections to this space being used for something more attractive than fly tipping and urine trails. The first image that struck me was the image below of a couple clearly in the halcyon days of their relationship. It just resonated with a positive energy clearly at odds with the grey concrete slabs joined together in unholy union, destined to crack in the future.
Secretly, don't we all aspire for the perfect relationship? A partnership borne of the moment as opposed to relationships covered in the horrors of yesteryear. I like the details in the background of the London landmarks. The London Eye and other representations of buildings that look a lot more pleasant than the phallic salutations to the Sun, knocked up by architects lost in their own patriarchal dreams.
As I was taking photographs, one thing I did realise was how organic graffiti art is. It is an associative and collaborative art, one piece runs into another. It is not exclusive. Yes, an artist may create their own piece but someone else will come along and add a new work or a tag. It is transient and subject to being whitewashed at any moment. It is an art form for dreamers and those who prefer movement and change to the staid gallery fragments laboriously worked on for months. I like all forms of art but sometimes, the thrill of the moment is more exciting than the clinical perfection of an oil painting of a fruit bowl.
Below are a selection of images that took my fancy and indeed, as is so very often the case with life, each choice is so individualistic that my reasons for liking them speak as much about my personal interests and obsessions. Most art allows for a myriad of interpretations and that's why it's beautiful. The artist merely provides the means to a multitude of climaxes. Good and bad.
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| A book adorned with a key and crosses or a rare type of cheese? A comment on life and religion. |
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| A rich symbol of the world of magic. A vision of hope. Pulling the proverbial rabbit out of the top hat. |
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| A richly satirical take on the Marvel character, 'Captain America'. The ejaculating penis may or may not have been created by the same artist but the same point comes across nonetheless. The gung ho militarism of Western civilisation. |
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| I liked the patterns and the tears. Looking at it closely, you can see the letters forming the word 'London'. |
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| I have seen the tag for 'Lager' before. He must be a London based artist eager to mark his time on Earth with paint. |
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| We are all part of a tribe, we just need to know how to work with that knowledge and grow. |
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| Something about the dark side of life, feeling down in the midst of bloodshed. |
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| Spirals. So complicated. I have never thought about them. |
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| Cute, sometimes, I just like things that touch me as they did when I was a child.
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Having spent some time walking around the underpass taking photos, I became increasingly aware of the power of graffiti. Also the myriad means through which these street artists express themselves. The phenomenon of 'tagging' is slightly less interesting to me than the more image based work of other artists. Although, I do enjoy seeing the 'tagging' in strange locations alongside railway lines and rail bridges where I am left to speculate, how they got their mark up there or down there and lived to tell the tale? It has the potential to change lives, to communicate in war torn countries where censorship prevails. This is my celebration of immediacy and the creativity of the anonymous minorities. Your work lives in our hearts and mind.
Barry Watt - 24th February 2014.
Afterword.
'Captain America' is copyright to the Marvel Entertainment Group.
BW
