Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 2.Stencils

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: The Line Motif



This artist has a clear personal style which is exemplified but the repetitive pattern of lines, the stylistic figures and the nautical, sea themes that are represented. The use of the yellow color and the bee-like black outline are striking

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: Strange Geometry

Geometrical patterns are favored by these graffiti artists on the walls of Athens.

Colors and shapes vary and provide rich decoration on otherwise grey or derelict buildings.

The next graffiti could very well be mistaken for a primitive painting as powerful as the prehistoric paintings found in the caves of Lascaux.

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: The Sculptor

This artist prefers the technique of working on paper and then pasting the paper on the wall like a poster. His main theme is abstract sculpture drawings which could very well be studies or ideas before actually they become sculptures.

It is an unusual, each time relatively small in scale work and therefore hard to spot. The artist signs with a small greek m.

Transient Art On The Walls Of Athens: 1.Graffiti

Theme: Gas Masks

The gas mask is a recurring theme for graffiti artists in Athens. In the area around Exarcheia where clashes between anarchists and riot police is a recurring phenomenon, the gas mask primarily symbolizes survival and resistance against police brutality.

It also makes a statement on a variety of issues from the environmental decline of the city...

... to isolation and the loss of human contact admidst a society that is devouring its own children.

But it can also be seen as making a reference to a sort of Orwellian nightmare society where everything is strictly controlled in an artificial way and oxygen itself has become a valued commodity.

From brut expression to beautifully detailed almost comic quality refinement, the gas masks of Athens stare at you and certainly get the message across.

Photographed by Douglas in Athens in August 2010.