The Silver Bot

Graffiti has received a mixed press over recent years. On the plus side, creatives like Banksy have turned graffiti into an aesthetic pleasure, utilizing stencils to produce technically difficult artworks with a nuanced political point. This kind of graffiti was bound to grow trendy with both the masses and the likes of The Guardian pressroom : visually pleasing and intellectually satisfying. This kind of graffiti is now even bought as graffiti prints on canvas, and hung in suburban homes and corporate reception areas.

Nevertheless, what about the other end of the spectrum? - the scally, the tagger, the gangbanger kind - this kind of graffiti is oftentimes seen as antisocial, a crime committed by the untalented. But is graffiti simply an artform? To many individuals, it’s not only an artform, but a means to put your stamp on a district, or even a two finger salute : anti-social, anti-art, anti-establishment.

Graffiti has invariably been a secret pursuit, although the results are very much public. The intended audience is often unidentified. Is it for a rival crew? A communication to a single person? To the public? Perhaps it’s just uncalled-for and out of boredom.

Whatever the reasons, there appears to be some kind of incessant demand to spray graffiti. Some cities have admitted that graffiti isn’t a short-term craze, so they’ve designated zones where graffiti is permitted - usually derelict areas, but now and again more civic areas like boarding around inner city construction sites.