I recently watched Girl Power, a documentary on female graffiti writers (remembering that graffiti is a sub-set of street art which I have written about here).

The film was made by Sany, a Czech graffiti writer, who wanted to create the first female graffiti writer film. The film documents Sany’s double life as a female graffiti writer: negotiating work, life, friends and family and how she balances (and sometimes doesn’t balance) this double life.

The rawness of the film narrative, including the technique and vision captured by the cameras, captures how women negotiate this subculture, through the view point of the female graffiti writers.  The audience is taken on a journey through the eyes of Sany and other female graffiti writers . Some parts are terrifying, as the women are running from  authorities (including police, security guards and transport staff), being caught, questioned and held for hours.

The film highlights lengths these artists will go to to get their ‘piece’ created.

Watching this film, reiterated to me the importance of these female writers. Just as important,  female artists should be acknowledged as important to this art form as their male counterparts. This is a theme repeatedly reiterated by the women in the film as they discuss the physical demands of their practice which includes jumping fences, going down operating subway tunnels, conducting their work in the middle of the night, accessing difficult locations and avoiding authorities. There is also the risk of spray painting trains that pull into stations for minutes before moving on, highlighting the challenge of creating artworks with such time constraints.

Apart from such comments, the female writers featured in the film all state that their gender does not play a role within this subculture.

Watching the film has now altered my perspective of graffiti writers. The film delves  into the subculture and affects the viewer by showcasing the risks that are involved in the process of creating their work,  the illegal nature of the art form, the double lives that are led by these women and how close the bonds are that exist between writers, both male and female.

References

Zajíček, J & Sany (Director). (2016). Girl Power [Documentary]. Czech Republic: Punk Film.