The origin of graffiti art can be traced to the ancient Egypt and Greek empires.
In early years graffiti was initially engraved on rock surfaces and seen as a sign of ancient civilization.
Today the art form has taken a new twist and flourishes on western hip-hop street culture.
Contemporary graffiti is usually spray-painted on the sideline of public and unkempt city spaces where it is normally seen as a nuance.
In some European cities graffiti is notoriously sprayed on the main stream city walls and on moving trains.
Although this art genre is not common in Zambia, some traces of it with vivid western influence can be spotted in some isolated areas of Lusaka and some Copperbelt towns.
Being an art form that flourishes on the wrong side of public space most graffiti artists work under the cover of the night.
But there is one local graffiti artist who seems to be determined to put his work on canvas and share it with his fans at conventional platforms.
Dwain Whitaker, Zambia’s likeness of America’s Barry McGee, has already exhibited his works at Henry Tayali and Alliance Francaise art galleries in Lusaka.
To further defy graffiti traditional trends of tagging on public walls and unkempt surroundings, Dwain has a clean online portal where he shares his creative passion.
The emerging artist is one of the few local artists utilizing the social media to showcase their work.
In one posting on his face book page, Dwain, shares a picture of a carton box full of spray cans with a caption; “The excitement that comes with a new paint shipment is unbearable, the possibilities are endless. 16 square meters of canvas and a 50 can rainbow of spray paint…”
Indeed, they seem to be endless possibilities with Dwain’s graffiti works.
Take for instance the series of works including a large graffiti done four panels which he painted during the 3-day Street Cultural festival that took place at National Sports Development Complex ground in Lusaka last week.
Dwain’s graffiti works radiated some unique creative energy and laterally gave the backdrop of the whole street cultural event.
Street culture was an ideal of Elijah Zgambo and Kapambwa Siame to create a platform for the youths to celebrate dance, rap and skate boarding.
This year’s festival attracted some 2000 youths who celebrated the hip- hop culture.
(Daily Mail)
