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September 22. 2010
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I.B.P.O.E of W.
The Reserve Vineyards bnd Gólf Club
Vancouver photographer Leah Jackson modified this image o f graffiti in the Netherlands to send a
political message about transportation. The original stencil is believed to be the work o f Bansky, an
anonymous English artist famous for his anti-war, anti-establishment and pro- freedom stenciled graffiti.
Graffiti through a New Lens
Transitory art
inspires local
photographer
by C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
Popping up on the walls of the
Washington State University-
Vancouver is a display of photo-
graphs taken of colorful graffiti art
from around the world.
Leah Jackson, a local artist, bi-
cycle advocate and owner of Angst
Gallery, a downtown Vancouver art
bar, is the woman responsible for
creating the exhibit which will con-
tinue through Nov. 21.
Intrigued by the transitory style
of graffiti, Jackson captured vivid
images while traveling in the Neth-
erlands, Belgium, Spain, Puerto Rico,
Costa Rica, France, and the U.S. Her
assortment of photos look like vin-
tage postcards layered with obscure
designs, Spanish phrases, and
tangled graffiti words.
Vibrant backdrops of marigold
yellow, smog pink, ocean blue, and
sepia brown mark the images that
expose wondrous characters from
abroad. A googly-eyed man in a suit
standing with a cane next to a bird
sitting on a telephone wire, a big
head stenciling of a pucker-faced
young girl, a gaping hole in the wall
with gargantuan lizards gliding out
with long tentacles and tongues are
some of the subjects Jackson cap-
tured.
“The art is free for us all to look
at, I think that is why I enjoy it,” says
Jackson. “If you aren’t paying at-
tention, I think you can miss a lot,
but once you start looking, these
pieces of free work can make you
stop and smile or think.”
One of her favorites is a photo
snapped from a brick building in the
Netherlands. On a white wall, a sten-
ciled man walks and nearby, an or-
ange cat sits under a leaning bi-
cyde.
It’s no accident that the work is
assured by everyone to be the work
of Banksy, an anonymous English
artist famous for his anti-war, anti-
establishment and pro-freedom sten-
ciled graffiti.
An activist in her own right, when
Jackson’s bike advocacy group
heard that Vancouver was about to
lose their bike and pedestrian pro-
gram, she modified a photo of
Banksy’s bicycle graffiti by inscrib-
ing her own graffiti message atop
the original, which reads, “we are all
part of a transportation solution.”
Jackson freely posted the post-
card image around Vancouver and
distributed it to the Washington
Bike alliance and city council mem-
bers to persuade them to continue
future projects for alternative forms
of transportation.
Though her message to keep the
program alive failed, Jackson feels
that she succeeded in creating a
space for public engagement. As
for modifying Banksy’s work, she
said, “As long as I was distributing
it freely, I don’t think he would mind
because it makes you stop and
think.”
The Washington State Univer-
sity-Vancouver library is located
at 14204N.E. Salmon Creek Ave.,
and is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.,
Monday through Thursday; and
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday. Admis-
sion is free.