Trains & Generations
Trains & Generations is a visual dialogue between three talented photographers who have been capturing the essence of the most extreme form of graffiti around the world. Spanning three generations and countless locations, the work of these photographers has been pivotal in documenting one of the most original and challenging art forms to have emerged during the late 20th century – graffiti writing on trains.
Through the medium of photography, Martha Cooper, Alex Fakso and Smart B have been documenting not only this ephemeral and illegal form of visual expression, but also its vibrant, adrenaline-fuelled atmosphere, experiencing the often despised underworld of graffiti writing first hand, taking part in its actions and missions and becoming an integral part of the scene themselves.
Three photographers, three generations, three moments in time. From the original New York scene in the 1970s and 1980s captured by pioneer graffiti photographer Martha Cooper, to the European scene from the 1990s until today captured by Alex Fakso and Smart B, the show is a tribute to an unparalleled art form that has always stood at the threshold between legality and illegality, exploring the line of continuity in a subculture that lives for the moment while highlighting the similarities in graffiti writers’ actions in different places and different times.
Trains & Generations is a visual dialogue between three talented photographers who have been capturing the essence of the most extreme form of graffiti around the world. Spanning three generations and countless locations, the work of these photographers has been pivotal in documenting one of the most original and challenging art forms to have emerged during the late 20th century – graffiti writing on trains.
Through the medium of photography, Martha Cooper, Alex Fakso and Smart B have been documenting not only this ephemeral and illegal form of visual expression, but also its vibrant, adrenaline-fuelled atmosphere, experiencing the often despised underworld of graffiti writing first hand, taking part in its actions and missions and becoming an integral part of the scene themselves.
Three photographers, three generations, three moments in time. From the original New York scene in the 1970s and 1980s captured by pioneer graffiti photographer Martha Cooper, to the European scene from the 1990s until today captured by Alex Fakso and Smart B, the show is a tribute to an unparalleled art form that has always stood at the threshold between legality and illegality, exploring the line of continuity in a subculture that lives for the moment while highlighting the similarities in graffiti writers’ actions in different places and different times.
