Graffiti Silence

Abstract

These tricontinental ekphrastic poems feature graffiti art(ists) that have caught my heart off guard. The first poem titled “Graffiti of Silence” is a response to the anonymous “listen bird”, ubiquitous in Edmonton's urban geography from 2003 to about 2008. Stenciled, spray painted or stickered, it always featured a speech bubble with one word: listen. It quickly became part of Edmonton’s local iconography, but the city’s Graffiti Management Program managed to eliminate the bird from its streets, but not from public memory. The second ekphrasis titled “The Fisherman” features the work of El niño de las pinturas (Raúl Ruiz), an internationally-renowned graffiti artist based in Granada, Spain. Known for his large-scale wall murals which are almost always accompanied by his own poetic text, he dresses the skin of this city in sienna strokes, covers its bruises with layers of light, becoming a source of symbolic pride for Granada. The third poem, “Monsters in Montevideo,” is inspired by Alfalfa (Nicolás Sánchez), an iconic street artist based in Montevideo, Uruguay. His unique style uses organic lines and bright colours to create fantastical creatures that add a sense of play and surprise to many of the city’s streets. These three ekphrastic poems are an attempt to translate the poetic experience of viewing street art. Through poetry, the impermanent art of graffiti is rendered immortal as a self-portrait of each city and each spectator.