URBAN CAMERA: If Walls Could Talk

Become a paid member to listen to this article

If the walls around us could talk, what would they say?

As a street photographer who follows graffiti and urban art, I’ve been asking myself this question for a while now. They say “A picture is worth a thousand words” but sometimes even a short sentence sprayed on a wall, can deliver an abrupt if not important message to those who pass through it. Street art can communicate directly with the public in a manner uncensored by official institutions (until they are painted over), while the walls serve as a canvas to voice a range of opinions that go beyond accepted boundaries.

The sentences and words serve as a street poetry, and like street art, they often promote a specific political or social agenda. Starting in the 1970s, those agendas were first addressed on the walls of America’s urban ghettos and downscale neighborhoods, but back then, the focus was primarily on economic issues.

The following images were taken by me from 2008 till 2011 in Berlin, New York, Tel Aviv and London.

Can you tell which was taken where?