Environmental Communication in Street Art: Motivations & Messages of Reverse Graffiti Creators

Spot theory and Halsey and Young’s motivational model complement each other in analyzing contemporary graffiti but they do not refer to reverse graffiti in particular – a relatively novel drawing technique vaguely described as dirt removal in existing literature. The reason to explore this phenomenon lies not only in the limited knowledge about reverse graffiti but also in the claim made both in scientific and popular sources that because of its eco-friendly application, revere graffiti mediates messages about environmental issues. Grounded in spot theory, motivational and communication of environmental actions models, this exploratory study attempts to clear the uncertainty surrounding reverse graffiti in order to establish a well-weighted definition that could serve to determine its place in street art culture and its value to environmental communication. By means of in-depth qualitative interviews, ten graffitists – including reverse, eco and traditional graffiti representatives – were asked for their interpretations of reverse graffiti, their motivations to do graffiti and the messages they communicate. The results show that reverse graffiti is a subtractive technique that can be used not only in grimy locations against the claims made in current literature; it is not permanent or harmful to the surfaces as opposed to traditional graffiti discussed in spot theory; and it is better described as street art rather than graffiti due to its lack of graffiti culture-specific norms and values that are evident in the motivational model of graffiti writers. Moreover, even though their methods are environmentally-friendly, contrary to the current claims, reverse graffiti creators are driven by a variety of motives which are not necessarily stemming from ecological concerns but more predisposed to positive ambience creation.