Reverse Graffity Actions by Greenpeace
October 27th, 2008 by Frans Prins Posted in Activism, Berlin & Germany, Energy & Climate
Over the last months, Greenpeace activists have done several actions using reverse graffiti techniques. It seems the usage of clean or reverse graffiti is still on it’s rise, since it is a technique both harmless for the environment and for the surface it’s used on.
Last week in Hamburg Greenpeace activists were stopped by the police while “cleaning” the pavement with their message against energy giant Vattenfall.
Well done, Greenpeace. As I’ve been recently criticizing Greenpeace Germany’s double role on the energy market, I would suggest this is the solution: get all out of that Greenpeace offices for a day and go spraying!
If you want to learn more about reverse graffiti, I recommend you the youtube video of street artist Moose.
5 Responses to “Reverse Graffity Actions by Greenpeace”
By vero on Oct 27, 2008
It would be quite interesting to find out if this is regarded as ‘illegal’ or not. You’re not applying anything, just removing waste material. Can you get arrested for (very locally) cleaning the pavement? Would it hold in court?
And: does anyone know any easy way of doing this, i.e. a way that doesn’t require a high-pressure cleaner or something like that?
By Frans on Oct 27, 2008
Indeed, the juridical question is remarkable. “I’m just cleaning the street a bit, is that forbidden or so?”
It’s a whole new kind of question, because most forms of poster flying, stenciling, spraying, etc. leave something behind, and here you are basically just…cleaning!
The offensive police reaction makes it clear once again that it’s more about keeping power and control over public space and the messages that are spread there, than about if you damage something or not, the usual argument against sticking posters or spraying graffiti graffiti.
As can be read on Wikipedia, the artist Moose got his first court case:
” Paul Curtis, also known as Moose, of the United Kingdom is considered to be a pioneer for reverse graffiti.[3] Curtis was recently charged in the United Kingdom under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act but the sentencing and implications are not known. There have been several instances of authorities attempting to prosecute those performing reverse graffiti. No authority has found legal ground to prosecute those who perform reverse graffiti.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_graffiti
By Reverse graffiti with skulls on Oct 27, 2008
there was also this reverse graffiti artist who “painted” skulls while cleaning in a tunnel in Sao Paulo, and got heavily in trouble over five times (click on my name for the report).
By Reverse Graffiti Marketing on Feb 8, 2010
If they introduce to laws to stop people cleaning the streets, its going to get very dirty out there
Come and chat to us about a reverse graffiti project