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.
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