Dublin Graffiti Traffic

By now, J is most definitely chillin' in his long johns in some posh Berlin hotel, I suppose. Hahahaha. For the time being, then, it's my turn to wax philosopical.


O, how things change in a years' time! The picture above right was taken last winter in the City Centre, and almost 365 later, the scene has been replaced with that of the above left. We have officially begun our chronicling of the Dublin graffiti scene, and after only being a week into it, we've started to notice some trends.

The Dublin City Centre is the heart of the city (or, as some might argue, the heart of Ireland), and so one would expect it to be a vibrant European hotspot for all that is hip-hop. Quite on the contrary, Dublin brings new meaning to the term 'hip-hop underground.' However, as we discovered, good things come to those who persist. In a city such as Dublin, the hunt can ultimately be the most rewarding part of the adventure.

Take for example, the piece below, by an artist who tags as 'DBC':


J just happened to catch this one as we were scouring the walls of a particular street near the Centre. By graffiti standards on the world scene, it may not stand as the most exemplary of projects, but it is nonetheless an exceptional piece of character art (and one of the few character pieces to be seen in the City Centre; it is of note that every other character piece we have discovered in Dublin thus far has been the work of DBC).


First and foremost, props to J for the find, but what was truly exceptional about this piece (street view above) was the effort it took to get a clear shot of it. As fate would have it, the piece in its entirety was only viewable from the second story of the bar across the street (our first day on the street and there we were already contemplating scaling security fences and property trespass; hahahaha). Being midday, it wasn't open yet, but that didn't stop us from trying. Fortunately for us, the young guy running the downstairs pub was more than willing to open the second floor up to us to shoot the piece. While I did the photographing, J had an opportunity to chat with the bartender (pubtender?), and as it turns out, the guy who owns the building the piece is on also happens to be a frequent patron of the bar. Said gentleman did not notice the piece for weeks (months?), and when he did, his reaction was... less than amenable. His response appears to have been to place a security camera just above and to the outside of the piece. Hahahaha. In summation (and at least from an outsider's perspective), that seems to adequately sum up the graffiti scene in Dublin, at least for now.

To be sure, it was a more productive day than we had expected. We stumbled on some amazing work, discovered what might be the only graffiti shop in the whole country, and in all took 200+ photographs that day. J should have some impressions to give from that first week when he gets back, so look for those next week. Grace and peace, y'all.

- G