Shooting the Graffiti Trucks of Paris
- Text by Dr. Oli Mould
- Photography by Marc Vallée
The modern day metropolis is so often pictured as smooth, glossy, fluid, clean and mobile. In high-end time lapse films, airline magazine spreads and endless commercials, the city is pictured as a place where you can move friction-free. Of course, this smooth mobility is only achievable by those rich enough to be able to afford it. Urban infrastructures are elite spaces, and so like the static spaces of the neoliberal city, they attract subversive re-appropriation.
The pictures here highlight how artists have brought the creative activism of subversive graffiti into (or onto) these commercialised infrastructures of urban mobility. As trucks and vans move consumable goods of the elite urban economy around the city, they carry with them the viruses of activism. Like the New York subway trains in the 1970s, the graffiti trucks of Paris are a mobile gallery of graffiti and its affront to the sterile spaces of urban commodity movement.
Graffiti on walls and static spots, as much as they are reclaiming the right to the city, under the rubric of urban neoliberal logics will become ‘no-go’ areas; places that are fiercely marginalised by agents of real estate capital. But graffiti trucks parade the subversive reclamation of space throughout the city, bringing the political act of graffiti to the people.
Marc Vallée is a London-based documentary photographer whose work explores the tension between public and private space in the context of contemporary youth culture. Marc’s pictures, self-published photography zines and photobooks have been published and exhibited worldwide. Grab a copy of The Graffiti Trucks of Paris zine.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
In photos: Black Texas life since emancipation
Kinship & Community — A new photobook and exhibition showcases the rich culture, history and community of African American folks in the Lone Star State, whose existence in the region predates colonial Britain.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Youthful joy & end-of-era poignancy at a London school prom
Leavers — For several years, Lewis Khan documented young people as they celebrated the last of their school days and the completion of their exams. The series is now collated in a new self-published photobook and short film.
Written by: Zoe Whitfield
Harry Gruyaert’s vintage, kaleidoscopic scenes of New York
A Sense of Place — For 50 years, the Belgian photographer and Magnum Photos member has been capturing NYC’s colourful chaos. A new photobook and exhibition showcase his unique, technicolour view of the city.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In the pit at one of the UK’s last stock car & banger speedways
Stock Car Racing Isn’t Dead — Photographer Liam McCarthy spent time in and around the Arlington Raceway’s circuit, capturing the diehard community that keeps the sport alive.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Inside Lower Duck Pond, the nicest town on the internet
/r/HaveWeMet — With a population of 2,500 and no fixed location, the subreddit is a space for roleplaying citizens to solve mysteries, host fictional events and ultimately connect. In an internet that’s often divided and toxic, Vicky Jessop hangs out in one of its most wholesome corners.
Written by: Vicky Jessop
A major Nan Goldin exhibition is coming to London
You Never Did Anything Wrong — Opening at the Hayward Gallery in November, the show will debut a new film from the artist and activist, alongside a slate of recent work.
Written by: Jack Dennison-Thompson
