Reverse Graffiti

Reverse graffiti is awesome.  Basically, reverse graffiti artists make their art by removing dirt, grime, dust etc. that has built up over the years.  This can be done with just some water and a clean rag or industrial cleaning material.  Because the artists aren’t adding any additional paint, it isn’t considered illegal.  Pioneer reverse graffiti artist Moose prefers to call it “clean tagging” or “grime writing” because the association with traditional graffiti carries a heavy social stigma.  Personally, I love reverse graffiti because it turns the concept of graffiti upside down and really separates the artistic expression of graffiti from the vandalism.  As Moose puts it: “Once you do this, you make people confront whether or not they like people cleaning walls or if they really have a problem with personal expression.”  The video above is of a reverse graffiti artist in Sao Paolo who made a mural of skulls on the insides of tunnels to remind drivers of how toxic their emissions are.  More examples of reverse graffiti and links to read more after the fold.

Moose at work

Scott Wade's Art

Reverse graffiti isn’t new.  It’s been around for awhile and you can read about it here and here.

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Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Reverse Graffiti Project
• Graffiti Cleaning?
• Green Graffiti
• Graffiti 2.0: Gone by Morning

Tags: Clean Tagging, Graffiti, Grime Writing, Reverse Graffiti