SURFACE REFLECTIONS : SURFACE REFLECTIONS
This slide show complements the essay ‘Surface reflections: Personal graffiti on the pavement’ by Megan Hicks published in The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, 1(3), pp. 365 – 382.: This slide show complements the essay ‘Surface reflections: Personal graffiti on the pavement’ by Megan Hicks published in The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture , 1(3), pp. 365 – 382.
INTRODUCTION Everywhere you go there are marks left by people who write themselves onto the pavement.: INTRODUCTION Everywhere you go there are marks left by people who write themselves onto the pavement.
ADDED MEANING In some ways, pavement inscriptions are like other kinds of graffiti on public surfaces. But they are also different because they are written on the ground. The pavement itself is part of the message. : ADDED MEANING In some ways, pavement inscriptions are like other kinds of graffiti on public surfaces. But they are also different because they are written on the ground. The pavement itself is part of the message.
Immortality Most wet concrete inscriptions are rich in autobiography.: Immortality Most wet concrete inscriptions are rich in autobiography. Skateboard rules Stanmore, Sydney, 1999
PowerPoint Presentation: Aboriginal flag superimposed on outline of Australia Stanmore, Sydney, 2010
PowerPoint Presentation: Pom power St Peters, Sydney, 2007
Resistance Any unofficial mark on the pavement is an act of subversion, even if it appears to be only a joke.: Resistance Any unofficial mark on the pavement is an act of subversion, even if it appears to be only a joke. Cars kill – RTS Reclaim the Streets event, Newtown, Sydney, 1999
PowerPoint Presentation: Burnout and tag on roundabout Marrickville , Sydney, 2009
PowerPoint Presentation: Parking space Redfern , Sydney, 2009
PowerPoint Presentation: Cyclist Redfern , Sydney, 2009
Control In the crowded city, people assert themselves by marking the pavement with their own rules and admonishments.: Control In the crowded city, people assert themselves by marking the pavement with their own rules and admonishments. No parking Enmore , Sydney, 2008
PowerPoint Presentation: No bins – Place all bins on other corner Newtown, Sydney, 2002
PowerPoint Presentation: No parking Surry Hills, Sydney, 2010
PowerPoint Presentation: Hand-painted pedestrian crossing Newtown, Sydney, 1999
PowerPoint Presentation: Bread is making birds sick Enmore , Sydney, 2010
PowerPoint Presentation: Filthy dog owner Enmore, Sydney, 2001
Passion The pavement adds subtext to expressions of love, spite, disappointment and friendship.: Passion The pavement adds subtext to expressions of love, spite, disappointment and friendship. I will always love you [and I worship the ground you drive over] Stanmore , Sydney, 2008
PowerPoint Presentation: Trish is a slut [and I am so angry with her I want her trampled underfoot] Newtown, Sydney, 2000
PowerPoint Presentation: Please come home. I love you! [even though you look down on me] Surry Hills, Sydney, 2005
PowerPoint Presentation: Kylie is a dog [and she hurt me so much I want her name smeared up and down the street] Stanmore, Sydney, 2005
PowerPoint Presentation: Dale 4 Shell [I would die 4 you] Bulli Pass, New South Wales, Australia, 2010
PowerPoint Presentation: F--- the Pigs [and run over the bastards] Marsfield , Sydney, 2008
PowerPoint Presentation: I do love U zeitgeist despite being junky scum [ and despite people thinking I deserve to lie here on a back lane] Newtown, Sydney, 2003
Performance The act of making a piece of pavement graffiti is important to its meaning, and is sometimes more important than the finished product. : Performance The act of making a piece of pavement graffiti is important to its meaning, and is sometimes more important than the finished product. No war Chippendale, Sydney, 2003
PowerPoint Presentation: I love you Forest Lodge, Sydney, 2011
PowerPoint Presentation: Bats (paint roller) Newtown , Sydney, 2008
PowerPoint Presentation: Tags (line-marking paint) Warringah Expressway, Sydney, 2009
PowerPoint Presentation: Sacred heart (concrete bleach) Stanmore, Sydney, 2002
PowerPoint Presentation: Creepy (drip) Newtown , Sydney, 2008
PowerPoint Presentation: H20E (splash) Newtown, Sydney, 2008
HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS Pavement graffiti can be found in cities around the world.: HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS Pavement graffiti can be found in cities around the world. Foetus 3e arrondissement, Paris, 2010
PowerPoint Presentation: Romane JTM signé : Raf Beneath the Reformation Wall, Geneva, 2010
But it is not only an urban phenomenon. It also occurs in outer suburbs …: But it is not only an urban phenomenon. It also occurs in outer suburbs … R.I.P . Alex Wildman 1993-2008 … Your our angel Macarthur, Sydney, 2008
… coastal byways …: … coastal byways … Tim P is gay Boolambayte, New South Wales, Australia, 2009
… country towns …: … country towns … 1000 Altered speed limit sign Walcha, New South Wales, Australia, 2004
… remote areas …: … remote areas … Shity road Walgett, New South Wales, Australia, 2006
… rural cities …: … rural cities … Penis Council carpark , Orange, New South Wales, Australia, 2010
… minor highways …: … minor highways … I heart U Bec Temora, New South Wales, Australia, 2004
… and major national highways.: … and major national highways. ‘Twister’ game Hume Highway, between Wagga Wagga and Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia, 2003
REFLECTIONS Beneath the everyday world there is another one, familiar but strangely distorted, like reflections on wet pavement.: REFLECTIONS Beneath the everyday world there is another one, familiar but strangely distorted, like reflections on wet pavement. Rest in peace Alex Wildman Macarthur, Sydney, 2009
Pavement inscriptions float on the surface between the real world and the distorted one. Like marker buoys they indicate the presence of unconscious aspirations and anxieties submerged below. : Pavement inscriptions float on the surface between the real world and the distorted one. Like marker buoys they indicate the presence of unconscious aspirations and anxieties submerged below.
©Megan Hicks 2012 See more about pavement inscriptions on the Pavement graffiti blog www.meganix.net/pavement : ©Megan Hicks 2012 See more about pavement inscriptions on the Pavement graffiti blog www.meganix.net /pavement