A Change of Face:Using Graffiti to Re-Imagine Spaces

Authors

  • Luba Pirgova-Morgan University of Salford England, United Kingdom Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70922/m0jfyn85

Keywords:

Graffiti, Re-framing Criminal Behaviour, Bulgaria, Case Studies, Designing-out Crime

Abstract

In much of the literature graffiti is connected to notions of defacing, devaluing, vandalising, participating in an
illegal activity or exhibiting ‘anti-social behaviour.’The aim of this paper is to show the change of perceptions
toward graffiti as less of an act of vandalism or a criminal activity and more of a solution to many social and political concerns. The paper offers a way to re- frame graffiti as the solution rather then the problem based on a study of graffiti crews in Sofia, Bulgaria. The paper presents three cases of these crews, each attempting to address different social and political issues within the capital of Bulgaria.This paper is hoping to highlight how graffiti can be used as a tool to help reduce crime, showcase a critical subcultural communication that is inclusive of the community at large, and depict the aesthetic value that can be added to a place in order to re-design the space and people’s attitude and behaviour. More importantly, the paper serves to show how graffiti can enable introspection and bring out not only the ‘soul’ from the wall, but also our own.

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Author Biography

  • Luba Pirgova-Morgan, University of Salford England, United Kingdom

    Luba Pirgova-Morgan holds a PhD in Social Sciences and Humanities from Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom for her research on Images of Electricity. Before that, her MA thesis from the University of Aberdeen reflected her triple degree in International Relations, Sociology and Film and Visual Culture and focused on images of national identity and nationalism, while her MPhil in Modern Society and Global Transformations from the University of Cambridge focused on images of corporate culture. She currently works as a Research Fellow at the Design Against Crime Solution Center at the University of Salford, Manchester and her interests still include semiotics, images and perceptions of various phenomena.

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Published

2018-05-30

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2017): Mabini Review Journal

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2018 Mabini Review

Creative Commons License

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Articles published in the MABINI REVIEW will be Open-Access articles distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). This allows for immediate free access to the work and permits any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose.

How to Cite

Pirgova-Morgan, L. . (2018). A Change of Face:Using Graffiti to Re-Imagine Spaces. Mabini Review, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.70922/m0jfyn85