A debate about street art has emerged in Bangkok, with some people calling for strict prosecution of vandals who defaced commissioned murals, while others argue that the acts were part of the normal ‘bombing’ culture in graffiti art.
The issue was sparked by a recent incident on Charoen Krung Soi 30, where an work painted by a Spanish artist under the ‘Krungthep Creative Streets’ project was damaged by three street vandals. One of them was arrested and faced charges on Monday while two remained at large.
Many people called the actions disrespectful to the original artist and unpleasant for the city’s image. Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt visited the site and condemned it as unacceptable.
The Embassy of France in Thailand, which co-hosted the project with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), said on Facebook that the perpetrators had ‘damaged the beauty of the art’.
After the news emerged, more complaints about such behaviour from other parts of Bangkok and other cities were reported, with people asking authorities to step up efforts to find and prosecute the vandals.
The defaced, original murals were created under legal projects to revive selected neighbourhoods, but many graffiti artists also target empty spaces and do not obtain permission to paint. (Story continues below)
Some people maintain that the actions were ‘normal in graffiti bombing culture’, the idea being that painting over another artist’s work is a way to bluff and show power by applying quick throw-ups or tags.
Street art culture has evolved over the decades as a way to make a statement, usually against the prevailing social structure, in cities all over the world. Some practitioners, Banksy being the most notable, have raised it to a high art form.
Graffiti has been around forever but the style of expression most people are familiar with today originated in the 1960s in cities in the United States. Young people, most of them black, used graffiti to express themselves and advocate for their rights.
In Thailand, people generally regard graffiti as bad manners and vandalism. When the damage is done to a work that was created with permission from the property owners, it violates the Maintenance, Cleanliness and Orderliness Act.
‘People who witness unlawful painting or other damaging of government property can report via TraffyFondue,’ the BMA advises on Facebook, referring to the popular app for citizen complaints.
On Wednesday, a 17-year-old man was also arrested in Nakhon Ratchasima for damaging a portrait mural of Luang Phor Khun Parissudho, a famous monk who died in 2015. Police said the teenager admitted his wrongdoing.