/ 6 April 2006

The art of spray-painting, South African style

Hip hop will be blasting from the speakers and aerosol fumes will thicken the air as the country’s most talented graffiti crews line up for the Write4Gold 2006 graffiti competition in Johannesburg next month.

It is the first time that the Germany-based graffiti and aerosol art competition goes global. Write4Gold, a non-profit and previously pure European event, will visit 17 cities on four continents including Moscow, Vienna, Auckland, and Tokyo.

The spray-paint madness hits South Africa on May 13 and will cause the Carfax venue in Newtown to be transformed into a colourful frenzy of urban artists battling it out for a place in the worldwide finals, to be held in Chemnitz, Germany in August. There will also be skateboarding, break-dancing, a local fashion showcase, and DJ performances.

Organiser of the South African branch of the event, graffiti writer Ricky from Write on Africa (WOA), a company promoting urban street culture, thinks South African graffiti is off the wall. “The level is truly amazing; writers here have an indigenous style unique to South Africa,” he told the Mail&Guardian Online on Thursday.

Participants who have confirmed their entry to the national spray-paint competition include Johannesburg’s TEA Crew with Nigerian-born Ozo and “Godfather of Graffiti” Gogga, Alexandra-based MSE Crew and Ricky’s own WOA Crew with Capetonian heroes Faith47, Falco, and Mak1One.

Writers have eight hours to show their skills in style and conception on a 20m-long board. Three judges will then assess the work by looking at originality, creativity, swing, statics, and readability. Sketching, action throw-ups and tags will also be judged.

Graffiti is hitting the streets everywhere as it is rapidly becoming more accepted as an art form. With huge murals adorning city buildings in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban, graffiti is no longer merely for the underground scene, tucked away in derelict building sites and railway stations for only a few eyes to feast on.

Write4Gold is determined to expose the world to the art of graffiti, the global tournament being a giant step in the right direction.

In Ricky’s opinion South African graffiti is bound to hit it big time. “It is going to be the next big popular thing. I am convinced a South African crew will win the global finals in Germany, hands down. After this event the world will know what we can do and I’m sure a lot of positive things will come out of it.”