The graffiti within: the reactivation and politicisation of Sydney’s subterranean

Abstract

Socio-spatial politics characterise the city and the subcultures that reside within her. This paper is centred on the visual tensions and dialogues embedded in the graffiti which shape and transform the public waterways, drains, tunnels and decommissioned coastal fortifications that cut through Sydney’s built environment. It constructs a revealing portraiture of graffiti’s multimodal engagement to further insights into the politicisation of place in these liminal realms. Nuancing Lefebvre’s (1974) counter spaces of otherness, and Swyngedouw’s (2006) networked phantasmagoria of waterways and sewers, I argue here that graffiti’s transgression intervenes and diverts the socio-political directive of these utilitarian substructures, as well as the symbolic power of the State. Drawing on specific instances, this paper provides evidence of defiant and differentiated forms of visual expression that involve a separation from mainstream norms to reveal alternative narratives which redefines Sydney’s subterranean cavities as a place for pilgrimage, passage, performance and play.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

[1] The term ‘graffiti writing’ covers the extended family of hip-hop inspired lettering practices that first hacked into the streets and public transport networks of Philadelphia and New York City in the early 1970’s. These practices mix stylised typographic elements (e.g. signature, crew name, dedication, motto) with graphics (e.g. spray cans, masks, faces, icons), dimension and stylistic devices (e.g. arrows, flourishes, crowns) that make further reference to crew status, territory, identity and stylistic influences. It encompasses old school writing practices (e.g. tags, pieces, blockbusters) and new school variants (e.g. throw ups and roller tags).

[2] In this paper I avoid the terms ‘graffiti art’ and ‘graffiti artist’. It removes the tendency to seek or place a monetary and aesthetic value on the work and to measure its significance in artistic terms. Crucially, not all graffiti writers would define themselves as artists (Klausner 2009). Writing is an apt descriptor as it signposts what graffiti writers do, how they sign and position themselves within a graffiti crew (by the tag’s naming or pointing function); rather than by how they can be perceived (as vandals or artists).

[3] Malabar Headland National Park is part of the traditional land of the Bidjigal and Gadigal People. Malabar Headland is a significant area (Bora Ground) for Aboriginal people. The word Bora is used throughout Eastern Australia to describe an initiation site or ceremony (NSW Government 2020). The Malabar Battery has recently been renamed ‘Boora Point Battery’. In this paper the name Malabar has been used as it indexes the site’s purpose as a colonial coastal fortification and how it is known to graffiti writers searchable online.

[4] The practice of urban exploration is commonly referred to as UE or UrbEx.

[5] Tags are monochromatic signatures of a graffiti writer’s pseudonym most commonly produced in aerosol or marker pen. Tags are single mode constructions, which means they can be produced in one swift movement and on the run. Tags comprise fluid, flowing and gestural line work, flourishes, lucid and expressive elements – exclamation marks, asterisks, arrows and so on. Tags are performative in the sense that their fluid nature encourages repetition. This repetition further reinforces visual conventions, graffer and crew identities, cultural territories and place.

[6] Piece is short for masterpiece. The noun ‘piece’ can also be used as a verb ‘to write’. Pieces are complex, stylised and sophisticated typographic spray-painted constructions of a tag alias. As such, these work function as elaborate tags. Large format pieces which span an entire wall surface are often referred to as murals. To be considered a piece, the graffiti must incorporate shading, embellishment (e.g. flourishes, crowns), outline and dimension. There are a variety of styles and levels of readability. In wildstyle, 3D wildstyle and semi-wildstyle (2D) works the tag name is intentionally distorted in the abstracted typographic construction. Blockbusters are simplified pieces which take less time to complete. Blockbusters incorporate readable block or bubble style lettering and involve less dimension, shading and detail.

[7] Throw up is a colloquial term used to describe a simplified blockbuster or piece. It is associated with new school graffiti which is characterised by typographic deconstruction. Throw ups consists of a strong outline but with no fill or minimal colour, shading and bubble style lettering. They can be produced or ‘thrown up’ in speed to avoid apprehension.

[8] The term ‘urban art’ covers an expansive field of image-based graffiti practices with iconographic, expressive, pictorial and/or figurative attributes. Paste ups, stencils, stickers, sculptures, collage and installations are just a selection of its ever-expanding and shifting array of offerings (Dew 2007; Manco 2002). These blended forms often combine formal fine art traditions (e.g. illustration, painting, graphic design, sculpture techniques) with the low-key dialect of urban expression (e.g. paper, acetate, glue).

[9] Gang culture in the Sutherland Shire area made headlines in 2005 for the Cronulla riots and highly publicised bashings of perceived non-locals and non-white Australians (AAP 2005).

[10] For more information about the Cave Clan urban explorers visit www.caveclan.org.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Samantha Edwards-Vandenhoek

Dr Samantha Edwards-Vandenhoek is a design researcher, digital media artist and senior lecturer in Communication Design and Photomedia at Swinburne University of Technology. Samantha holds a BA (Hons) in Aboriginal Prehistory and a PhD in Media and Communication Studies. Samantha’s research interests include contemporary archaeology, documentary photography, participatory placemaking and material culture studies.