The political work of graffiti during the Covid-19 pandemic: a view from Tottenham, London

Abstract

Graffiti and its ancillary forms have been used for a wide variety of purposes including ornamentation, territorial demarcation, commercial announcements and political contestation. This visual essay takes up Lyman Chaffee’s notion that graffiti can constitute an alternative media system that offers a glimpse into emerging and evolving political discourses. Using ‘walking-as-method’ in a north London neighbourhood, it surveys the array of political graffiti produced in the context of the UK’s first wave of Covid-19 and accompanying period of lockdown. In so doing, it presents a visual chronology of shifting popular opinion on the British state’s handling of the pandemic and illuminates the ways that the politics of pandemic management has intersected with other national and local concerns, from the resourcing of public services to the Black Lives Matter campaign.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank her colleagues in the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University for encouraging her to compile this essay. She is also grateful to the issue editor and two anonymous reviewers for their swift and constructive responses to my submission.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

[1] The 1985 Broadwater Farm riot ensued following the death of a black woman, Cynthia Jarrett, during a police raid on her home. The 2011 riot, which eventually sparked bouts of unrest all across London, began with local protests about the death of Mark Duggan, a young black man, during a stand-off with police.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Holly Eva Ryan

Holly Eva Ryan is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Political Sociology at Queen Mary University of London and a co-convenor of the Queen Mary Latin America and Caribbean Network (QMLAN). Her research is focussed on civil society and everyday forms of political expression. She is the author of the book, Political Street Art (2016) and she has published a wide array of journal articles and thought pieces on topics including sensory politics, collective memory, social movements, solidarity, twinning and international friendship.