More and more Joburg's inner cityscapes are being converted into canvases where graffiti artists display their colourful art. This kind of edgy street art is encouraged by local municipalities and is being featured in advertising billboards more and more. These photographs were taken by Kevin Friedman on Louis Botha Avenue alone.
Steven Sach, the head of Arts and Culture for the City of Johannesburg told Kevin that they "did not know what to do with Louis Botha" and had given it over to the graffiti artists, three of whom advertised their website in the images. This is in keeping with many other large cities which are also favouring graffiti artists.
The universality of graffiti art is adhered to in both the figures and the text but Joburg's graffiti is a reflection of its community. Graffiti art owes a lot to hiphop culture and this comes through as well. Who knew our streets are so colourful? Next time you pass a wall which looks decrepit, devoid of paint and covered in graffiti, take another look.
Your local street artists have been working overtime, and maybe next week, who knows? These images may have been painted over ...
The artists use every bit of available space, like this clever use of a door.
And then there is "tagging", without which no respectable graffiti artist can look at himself in the mirror ...
Who knew an outside wall, or the wall of your house, could look so great?
Sometimes the images look a little scary ...
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