Two (Three?) Weeks' Worth

We've been away from the keyboard, but still grindin'. I found some amazing work in the process. I didn't have an appreciation for graffiti as an art form prior to my time in Ireland, so I can't comment much on the medium as it exists in the outside world. However, I know enough to say that action here is sparse.

While the prospect sounds bleak, it creates some interesting dynamics for the scene that does exist here. As J and I offered before, the stagnation of graffiti culture here in Ireland has produced a society that has almost no appreciation for the medium as an art form. Accordingly, the Irish government has cracked down immensely; I was doing research several weeks back and came upon a letter (presented in support of legislation authorities were pushing at the time) proposing some notable strategies to combat the issue, two of which particularly stood out to me:

1) The proposal for an exclusive task force to be established within the Garda devoted solely to cracking down on graffiti.
2) The proposal for jail time to be within the reasonable range of punishment for offenders.

No love from the S(C)BA. Hahahaha.

Whether any such legislation was ever passed is unbeknownst to me, though I do intend to do more research on the situation as it stands today, in 2008.


As a Christian, I may not agree with every decision that is passed down by an authority, but G-d has allowed them to be put in power, for a reason, and I will honor that. In a sense, then, I regard myself as something of an 'international journalist/photographer'; I may chronicle events taking place in the world, but that does not mean that I agree with them completely. The means may be devious, but the medium can still retain its beauty.

Even with all the adversity facing artists around the country, the underground still bustles about in various levels of mediocrity and excellence. Dublin in particular is plagued with goodness-gracious-awful tags (think 'Damo' and 'Jonesy & Belinda Forever 2007'), but it also has some pleasant surprises. Such overbearing emptiness only serves to make the true gems (unearthed by roaming the streets of the city) all the more brilliant once discovered.

Gotta love the Frenchies.

Going back on the hunt this weekend. The City Centre doesn't stand a chance. Hahahaha. Got Boston to look forward to next weekend (and we'll be on the lookout for art while there), but I'm still a Dub until then. Grace and peace.

- G