Should leaving your mark be deemed as vandalism!
As you can see in the
examples
shown people have been leaving their mark in one form or another since the beginning of time.
Only now we call it graffiti and society sees it as
Vandalism.
Most of us have done little or no harm by etching our initials in a tree, an old bridge or in a lesser form on the front of our school jotters. This form of marking isn’t vandalism but something everyone does, there is something about growing up that makes us want to mark our territory. It is also common at famous landmarks all over the world. People leave their mark to let others know they been there.
Vandalism on the other hand is when property is damaged on purpose or destroyed by vandals through violence and anger that often stems from social issues.
A gentle approach to resolving some of the issues of graffiti bombing in the wrong places is to allocate areas where this is allowed. Another is to socially include the age groups mainly responsible for this type of marking by incorporating them into community projects.
Lorraine Griffin, from SSC said, “ Harnessing this raw energy can produce fantastic artwork which can be used in a variety of ways to personalize a community space. I have worked with very young age groups, as well as, senior members of the community to produce artwork, texts, and concepts that have been very successful. It has made me realize the benefits for everyone in the community. Social inclusion is key in tackling these issues when regenerating existing, or creating new community spaces”.
One way of stamping the community’s personality on the space is by sandblasting the collected designs, artwork, text, and prose onto natural timber and stone. The collective work will tell a story to future generation about the social history of their community which has got to be a good way of keep the past in the present.
Lorraine claims, ”Our stone products will last for many generations. Probably outlive a
nyone reading this article”.
SSC are a company who specialize in producing these products. Shown below are some examples of the artwork produced at a community project for younger children. Thirty piece of artwork were produced and then sandblasted onto whinstone play boulders at ‘Scranton’s Eco Park’ for client ‘Ben Dewhurst’ from Trust for Urban Ecology ( BTVC).
