London Traffic

'The bar' of train painting was set high in New York during the late 1970's and 80's as documented in the seminal film 'Style Wars' and the book 'Subway Art', produced by Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper, among other important documentors of the time.

Since then, 'the scourge' of graffiti has spread around the globe and (almost certainly) every country on the planet has it's own unique graffiti culture.

In the UK, train graffiti is a 'serious crime' with severe penalties carrying the threat of heavy fines and long-term imprisonment. It is hard to fathom how these 'acts of vandalism' are comparable to violent crime and sexual assault (for instance), however graffiti writers have been served long sentences, imprisoned alongside violent offenders and treated as 'low-life' criminals.

Even with this threat graffiti writers still endeavour to 'smash the system', 'destroy all lines', 'get up, and get over'. Defying the law, they continue push the medium of modern graffiti and make their mark across the cities train networks.

As the scene has evolved, all forms of 'traffic' are a viable target for writers to further push their name. Box-trucks, vans, cars, whatever... If it moves, a piece gets much more exposure than on a static wall...

I do not condone any act of 'vandalism' however when a 'runner' rolls into a platform the visual shock and definitive statement 'I AM HERE' overpowers the senses. I personally find the visual aesthetic extraordinary. Human presence is felt and people power is carried through the city...