KATHMANDU, July 17: A modern art form is taking over the historically significant, traditionally well-endowed city of Patan. The architecture of alleys, streets, and buildings reflects the history and tradition of the ancient city, whereas the vibrant colours sprayed like scribbles on the city walls exhibit an emerging modern art style—graffiti.
Graffiti, an art form written or painted on a surface or a wall, has become a tool for the youth to express themselves. Along with graffiti, spray paints that look like scribbles or calligraphy—which are known as graffiti tags—don the walls. Graffiti tags usually are like signatures of the artist, who is known as a tagger.
Patan is the new hub for young, emerging graffiti artists. The endless alleys give the graffiti artists and the taggers numerous options of a blank canvas—a wall.
“I don’t know when and where they come from, but it’s becoming a problem. They spray these scribbles on my shop’s walls, getting them dirty,” said Shopkeeper Akash (name changed).
Akash, who runs a shop at Pimbahal, is tired of seeing countless tags and graffiti on his wall.
“It’s not that I don’t like it,” he said, “If they had asked for consent, I would have checked the design and let them spray it.”
He has no intention of painting over it because they are going to come back and spray it all over again. Akash is not the only person facing graffiti and tag vandalism.
Shruti Pradhan, 42, who runs a restaurant in Patan, faces a similar problem. “I have painted this wall over three times now. It’s too tiring to paint it over and over again,” said Pradhan. “It’s not only walls but also the public signboards, no parking sign, that have been tagged.”
Graffiti and tags have become a nuisance for Patan locals as their sign boards and walls are sprayed without explicit consent. What’s more, the locals don’t even understand the scribbles to be able to appreciate them.
Tags are the first and the easiest form of graffiti. Graffiti artists start tagging before they learn how to spray and paint. They leave their tags under bridges, construction sites, walls, poles, sign boards—everywhere.
While some graffiti and murals are done with the permission of the property owner, most of them are sprayed late in the night when no one can witness the act.
It is not only the older generation that sees it as a problem. Reetika Maskey, 21, an art enthusiast, appreciates the art form but emphasized consent from the property owners. “I like graffiti and see it as a form of expression, but that doesn’t mean one can spray wherever they like. I think it’s better if they ask for permission before spraying,” she said.
Graffiti or tags done without permission are seen as vandalism. But why are artists spraying their tags on other people’s property?
According to Ana Vesnik, the street art movement in Nepal started booming when French artist Space Invader visited Kathmandu in 2008 and painted 20 murals across the city. In her article, published in the magazine Widewalls, Space Invader’s paintings “inspired locals to engage and the movement has been growing fast ever since. The country’s absence of legislation against public painting made Nepal graffiti mecca, causing both local and international creative souls to swarm to Kathmandu.”
With the emerging taggings, questions are mounting about art and vandalism.
“I tag because it has become a culture and I am also a part of it”, said Mike, who did not want to be named.
Mike has been doing graffiti for about two years now. “I like tagging my signature when I travel around places to show that I’ve been there and I think others do it mostly for the same reasons,” he said.
“I guess graffiti and tagging for a graffiti artist holds different meanings," added Mike as he mentioned he makes sure to ask the owners before tagging or tags in places where it won’t hamper the beauty of the place. But there are tags everywhere nowadays that make places including Patan look unpleasant.
PhotoKTM launched a photo walk series two years ago. Mike was volunteering and he got permission to stencil spray a bird on a restaurant’s wall.
Now, the bird had also been covered with tags.
The rapid appearance of the tags has troubled the locals but it also raises questions about art and the implication it has on the community. For some, it is a culture, a form of expression, for others, it looks like scribbles on the walls with no meaning.