keep it clean

a new form of urban graffiti has sprung up around the globe causing confusion and mixed opinions all over the place, this new form goes by the name of clean graffiti or reverse graffiti. the idea is rather than adding paint or markers to a surface, all you need is a dirty wall, some cleaning utensils and a creative mind.  slightly more than just writing "clean me" on a car window but using the same idea, people have managed to create beautiful pieces of temporary art to rival even the greatest pieces of spray graffiti.

some people feel that it is just the same as spraypainting a wall and thus should be policed in the same way, others feel that if the local governments, owners or whoever can't find the money, time or reason to clean the surfaces, then it's fair game to go and clean sections of it however you see fit.

using whatever canvas they can find be it a dirty tunnel stained by years of pollution or a car windscreen these artist display an amazing amount of talent, creative flair and dedication. some for a reason, as in the case of alexandre orion who wanted to get a message to the poeple who wouldnt usually listen about the effect our cars were havng on the planet, funnily enough alex was arrested and then released as they couldnt charge him with anything and the section of the tunnel was cleaned, so alex went to work again until the authorities cleaned every tunnel in the city, kinda missing the point.

some are just finding a new outlet for their creative flair, as scott wade does, who chose dirty car windscreens as his canvas for his incredible portraits, recreating amongst other things iconic images of famous poeple

one of the biggest names in the reverse graffiti world is uk born paul curtis better known as "moose" who has been cleaning the streets of england for a good few years. he recently was part of the "reverse graffiti project" and created a beautiful mural on san francisco's broadway tunnel to help promte a plant based cleaner.

no matter what you think of the artists and their work you cant deny that its getting noticed, some companies have even started offering clean graffiti as a method of advertisment. 

just a little food for thought, next time you see a polution stained wall or dirty car windscreen why not give it a go, the worst that can happen is that you make the world a little bit cleaner.

have a great bank holiday monday