Graffiti

I’ve written about graffiti in another blog, the one I used to write about in Newcastle. There, the graffiti I saw most of was the stuff in the drains and under the bridges of Styx Creek and its tributaries. I didn’t understand the tribal nature of graffiti gangs; to me, it was a purely aesthetic thing. So I’d say something like “I like this one, but this one’s a bit crap”. Then I’d get threats to have my head stoved in in the comments section.

Small towns tend to have less graffiti. I guess it’s a bit like being the only gay in the village: it’s harder to pull off. The cities are big and anonymous and you can find your people more easily there. But I was struck, when I first arrived, at the very lack of any kind of tagging or spraying. The best I found were a couple in the wall opposite the post boxes and some old partially scrubbed-off stuff at the pool. But, even though I photographed them, they really weren’t on a par with the big city stuff.

I had a good old chuckle when I saw this in Walgett. It’s of the “defacing” school of graffiti rather than being an original piece, but it made my day when I saw it.

This sneaky one on a goal post at Spider Brown Oval piqued my interest. Who was copping it that day? Or was it just the illicit thrill of writing the rudest words you could think of in public?

Anyway, I’d kind of given up on a graffiti post as, in close to six years, this was about the best I’d seen. Then – ta da! – I saw this on the wall of the ex-dentists’ building opposite Khan’s IGA.

Who is Trills? Out of towner, or a local? Does this herald an new era in graffiti for the Ridge? Or was it one-off by some random grey nomad reliving her salty adolescence?

Time will tell.