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.
Artworks from this exhibition
Dondi in Silhouette Painting Train in New Lots Yards, Brooklyn
Martha Cooper
Edition 2/12
Archival Digital C print printed from drum scans from original 35mm transparencies
40.6 × 50. 8 cm
1980
Available only by enquisition
Dondi Painting Train in New Lots Yards, Brooklyn
Martha Cooper
Edition 2/12
Archival Digital C print printed from drum scans from original 35mm transparencies
40.6 × 50. 8 cm
1980
Available only by enquisition
Dondi and Friends in His Room Sketching Pieces, Brooklyn
Martha Cooper
Edition 3/12
Archival Digital C print printed from drum scans from original 35mm transparencies
40.6 × 50.8 cm
1980
Available only by enquisition
Bode-style Nude on Subway Car Underground, Manhattan
Martha Cooper
Edition 2/12
Archival Digital C print printed from drum scans from original 35mm transparencies
40.6 × 50.8 cm
1982
Available only by enquisition
Skeme and Agent Playing on Train in #3 Yard, Manhattan
Martha Cooper
Edition 3/12
Archival Digital C print printed from drum scans from original 35mm transparencies
40.6 x 50. 8 cm
1982
Available only by enquisition
Woody with Homemade Marker, Manhattan
Martha Cooper
Edition 2/12
Archival Digital C print printed from drum scans from original 35mm transparencies
40.6 × 50. 8 cm
1982
Available only by enquisition
Dondi Top-to-bottom Whole Car Passing Through South Bronx
Martha Cooper
Prints Editions 21/3000 and 22/300
Archival Digital C print printed from drum scans from original 35mm transparencies
50.8 × 76.2 cm
1980
Available only by enquisition
Look for Layups
Alex Fakso
Edition 1/10
Fuji Crystal Archive C-type print matt finish from 35mm negative
100 × 70 cm
2004
Available only by enquisition
In-line Entry
Alex Fakso
Edition 1/10
Fuji Crystal Archive C-type print matt finish from 35mm negative
100 × 70 cm
2002
Available only by enquisition
Ceo Portrait, Bassano Yard
Alex Fakso
Edition 1/10
Colour hand print Fuji Crystal Archive matt finish from 6 x 7 negative
62 × 50 cm
2010
Available only by enquisition
Landscape Yard, Tokyo
Alex Fakso
Edition 1/10
Fuji Crystal Archive C-type print matt finish from 6 x 7 negative
70 × 83 cm
2009
Available only by enquisition
Berlin Escape, Berlin Subway
Alex Fakso
Edition 1/10
Fuji Crystal Archive C-type print matt finish from digi file
50 × 70 cm
2011
Available only by enquisition
Self-portrait With Flames, Bassano Yard
Alex Fakso
Edition 1/10
Colour hand print Fuji Crystal Archive matt finish from 6 x 7 negative
62 × 50 cm
2012
Available only by enquisition
Self-portrait AKA Ghost Face, Bassano Yard
Alex Fakso
Edition 1/10
Colour hand print Fuji Crystal Archive matt finish from 6 x 7 negative
62 × 50 cm
2012
Available only by enquisition
Feeling Lucky, Brussels
Smart B
Edition 1/3
35mm film on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
100 × 66 cm
2006
Available only by enquisition
So High, Paris
Smart B
Edition 1/3
35mm film on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
100 × 66 cm
2011
Available only by enquisition
Night in the Bush, Bucharest
Smart B
Edition 1/3
35mm film on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
100 × 66 cm
2010
Available only by enquisition
Better Go, Brussels
Smart B
Edition 1/3
35mm film on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
70 × 46 cm
2006
Available only by enquisition
Why Wait, Paris
Smart B
Edition 1/3
35mm film on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
70 × 46 cm
2010
Available only by enquisition
Far Away From Home, Bucharest
Smart B
Edition 1/3
35mm film on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
50 × 33 cm
2009
Available only by enquisition
Nothing Better to Do, Lisbon
Smart B
Edition 1/3
35mm film on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
70 × 46 cm
2005
Available only by enquisition