There are a few different types of wall paintings that we may see while walking around a city: wall murals, graffiti, throw-ups, and tags for example, but also covered-up paintings, where illegal graffiti has been painted over. These cover-ups might give an impression of badly painted, dirty, or messy walls to the untrained eye. But if we observe them with more than just the usual attention, what else can we figure out?

Manifesto

We don’t need to escape into a virtual world. Our city, its districts and streets may not be ideal; they may seem boring or depressing at times. But this cannot be a valid reason to abandon them in favor of virtual reality. Technology and social media provide us with a shortcut to finding new and exciting things, but that is just an illusion. The real challenge is to look anew at what already surrounds us and see its potential.

We can’t change everything around us, but we can change the way we look at it. And if we change our viewpoint, our reality can change. A different perspective can make a street look more interesting. Something ordinary can become extraordinary. A problem in life, a unique opportunity. It’s time to take a second look at what is already around us. The city is ours.

Contributors

Adam Frint, Avalon Kalin, Ipin, HuH, Isabella De Silvestro, Magnus Lind Nielsen, Mathieu Tremblim, Nadine Gross, Oleksandr Burlaka, Svetlana Feoktistova, Thierry Furger, Tracey Trussell, and many more.

Editor

Alexandre Kurek

Notes

1–10 Lorenzo Servi, The City Is Ours Issue No.2: Graffiti Removals, Other Editions, Helsinki 2022.