Urban Abstractions
Urban Abstractions
I developed an interest in graffitiand urban space from the idea of observing how graffiti can be discovered inplaces outside the view of everyday, public life. Although graffiti is now viewedas a public art, it has a history of being viewed as vandalism, which pushedmany of the original artists to begin working in areas commonly overlooked toavoid arrest. I have a fascination with the works in areas such brokenbuildings, alleys and subway tunnels. This ‘hidden’ graffiti has become separatedand often lost from the larger public eye, and yet it retains a presence, importance,and history to those who seek it and are able to find it.
The process behind my paintings is torecreate the life of these hidden or private pieces of graffiti and the spacesthey inhabit. Initially I work very quickly, focusing on raw mark making, usingwriting styles and spray application- most commonly associated with graffitiwriting. Warped planes and false perspective begin to act as walls that arefree from architectural-form limitations. The results are an invented spacethat leaves the viewer with little sense of location, and rejecting theconfines of urban architecture where graffiti is commonly found.
Graffiti writing is rooted in urbandevelopment and decay. As the world around us expands, the graffiti and theindividual who creates it shrink leaving only a history of what once was. Mypaintings, with its roots in re-constructed graffiti markings, now encompass a broadersense of depth, which escape the confines that limit most forms of streetart.
I developed an interest in graffitiand urban space from the idea of observing how graffiti can be discovered inplaces outside the view of everyday, public life. Although graffiti is now viewedas a public art, it has a history of being viewed as vandalism, which pushedmany of the original artists to begin working in areas commonly overlooked toavoid arrest. I have a fascination with the works in areas such brokenbuildings, alleys and subway tunnels. This ‘hidden’ graffiti has become separatedand often lost from the larger public eye, and yet it retains a presence, importance,and history to those who seek it and are able to find it.
The process behind my paintings is torecreate the life of these hidden or private pieces of graffiti and the spacesthey inhabit. Initially I work very quickly, focusing on raw mark making, usingwriting styles and spray application- most commonly associated with graffitiwriting. Warped planes and false perspective begin to act as walls that arefree from architectural-form limitations. The results are an invented spacethat leaves the viewer with little sense of location, and rejecting theconfines of urban architecture where graffiti is commonly found.
Graffiti writing is rooted in urbandevelopment and decay. As the world around us expands, the graffiti and theindividual who creates it shrink leaving only a history of what once was. Mypaintings, with its roots in re-constructed graffiti markings, now encompass a broadersense of depth, which escape the confines that limit most forms of streetart.
