You are currently viewing Valentines Graffiti Art. A new collection of artwork drawing on memories from my teen years in India.

Valentines Graffiti Art. A new collection of artwork drawing on memories from my teen years in India.

Is it art or is it vandalism?

This February, the month of love, I’m working on Valentines Art collection inspired by Graffiti.

Love it or hate it, graffiti dating back to ancient Greece, Roman and Egyptian civilisations has survived as a form of artistic expression. The first wall art was done in caves. The oldest cave paintings found in Spain are made by Neanderthals sixty-four thousand years ago.

The first modern graffiti artist is Cornbread, a high school student from Philadelphia, who in 1967 started tagging city walls to get the attention of a girl – the things you do as a teen! Modern graffiti became popular in New York in the 70s. Usually drawn or painted in public spaces without permission, it is considered vandalism and is a punishable offence. The message is usually political, marking gang turfs, expressing one’s love or defaming someone. The latter two are very prominent in India. At least from what I remember seeing on walls of public places, tree trunks, historic forts and palaces and girls’ toilets in colleges! The etching of hearts with the names of lovers or of the girl you admire was a common sight. Most of the time quite humiliating rather than being a compliment.

Graffiti is a common sight in London. Leake Street Tunnel which runs underneath Waterloo Station is a popular spot dedicated to graffiti. Artists turn up with their paints and claim a patch of the wall. There’s no guarantee how long the work will remain on display as someone else might come along and paint over it. Some popular London spots for enjoying graffiti art are Camden, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Hackney Wick, Brick Lane. All worth a visit to admire graffiti. You could even join a guided tour. In West London, check out Acton for Fin Dac and Matt Small who did Jamal Edwards portrait. Here’s a link: https://www.actonunframed.com. We cannot talk about graffiti and not mention Banksy or Robin Gunningham. Here’s an article which tells us about Banksy’s story https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-story-behind-banksy-4310304/

Graffiti doesn’t have to be destructive or grim. Street art is a great way to brighten our highstreets with colourful and educational messages to be enjoyed by all ages. I enjoyed creating my first ‘proper graffiti’ with spray paint at Leake Street Tunnel. My commissioned outdoor artwork can also be seen in Dawes Road in Fulham, Ozwald Café in Chiswick and Greenford Broadway in Ealing. Unlike most artists, I do not have one style of painting. Each work is unique and in response to a theme.

If you have a wall indoors or outdoors that needs some art jazz, drop me a note on sangeeta@sansart.co.uk Meanwhile, here’s my graffiti work on paper. Prints will be available on request. https://sansart.co.uk/product-category/paintings/valentines-graffiti-art/