Bad Graffiti

Bad Graffiti is the photographic collection of artist and sculptor Scott Hocking from his journeys around abandoned properties and areas of dereliction. Bad Graffiti is a celebration of ‘bad’ graffiti, as opposed to the more typically published graffiti of known taggers.

Street art has become mainstream in recent years and the work of graffiti artists’ been celebrated and taken away from the street to be displayed in galleries. This book looks at the other end of the spectrum, focusing on the rough lettering and lude comments more commonly found on street signs and toilet doors. Rather than yet another book on ‘designer’ graffiti, Bad Graffiti looks at the plethora of graffiti that adorns our cities at a ubiquitous, popular cultural level. It is a record of the graffiti of the everyday, not of the named ‘artists’ who have contributed to the many books on graffiti ‘art’ over the past ten years or so.

Scott Hocking has been photographing graffiti since 2007, focusing on the humorous commentary decorating urban landscapes and particularly in areas of decay or abandonment. Hocking’s photographs, collected here for the first time, tell the story of the everyday and showcase the areas or markings so often seen but also overlooked by others.

Bad Graffiti is a funny, informative and at times irreverent look at the urban landscape today, making a great gift for those interested in the city and popular culture.