Graffti – potential cultural asset or environmental vandalism?

It is true that removal of graffti by local government authorities typically costs ratepayers big dollars. The expense is called for because, in the words of Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP, “The visual impact of a clean wall is an immediate and tangible sign to residents that they live in a clean and safe neighbourhood.”

However, this ignores the fact that some graffti consist of vibrant artwork which actually enhances the streetscape. South Sydney has a strong history of public aerosol art. Many murals – for example the “I have a Dream” Martin Luther King painting in Newtown, to name just one – are much loved by the community.

Similarly, a full wall mural in my neighbouring street has graced our lives for some years, resisting the vandalism of those wannabees who actually can’t paint at all but choose to deface walls with scribbles called “tags”. What you will see is that where there is a mural – there usually are no or few tags. If anything, wall murals should be encouraged. This is something that Council could facilitate, judging by the experience of a young friend recently.

Paris is a teenage aerosol artist. Keen to paint a mural, he had door-knocked many homes in the area seeking permission from property owners to decorate their end walls. After all, he was only following the instructions he had received from a City of Sydney Council offcer who had told him they can’t help and he was to negotiate with property owners himself.

When you are a gangling teenager wearing the “homey” uniform of baggy shorts and T-shirt, let us just say you have many doors slammed in your face. Demoralised and disaffected, by now he felt that legitimate channels were just not going to work, and maybe he should resort to non-legal methods of graffti.

Enter Claude, the man who owns the house I mentioned above, with the fading mural. “I have been looking for someone to do a new mural for quite a while” he told me, “but I haven’t been able to find the young people who did the last one. I contacted the Council, but they said they couldn’t help me.”

Within 48 hours Claude had a new mural, painted over a two-day period (at Paris’ own not-insignificant expense) with passers-by repeatedly stopping to admire and praise the young artist. Our community needs more resources to support people like Paris, to ensure that their expression is channelled in a way that does not offend private property rights, or any laws.

Many of us remember millionaire community activist Tony Spanos and the Graffti Hall of Fame in the old Meatworks at Botany Road, Alexandria, which suffered closure at the hands of the then South Sydney Council and NSW Supreme Court in 2000. This was a highly regarded community resource, which has never been replaced.

There is a real sense of pride when artists are able to display their work with the appreciation of the community. Artists should be distinguished from sociopathic vandals who have no artistic merit.

Public policy should clearly distinguish between the two, and one way of doing this is by supporting grassroots artists by facilitating their connection with private property owners and supporting such art in public places too.

If you would like to suggest environmental issues in South Sydney that need investigation,

please contact Anna Christie by email: anna@sustannability.com

Source: South Sydney Herald December 2006