However a good place to glimpse some rare street art would be along the footpath at Potterow, near the University of Edinburgh. I believe it's the only public wall in the city centre where graffiti art is legal, and hence presumably, easier to control and regulate.
Taken on a fine afternoon at Potterow.Curious to find more examples of such art, I was led to the Henderson Gallery this afternoon. There, I acquainted myself with Edinburgh's answer to Banksy - local graffiti artist, Elph.
Henderson's is a small contemporary art gallery on Thistle Street which is currently hosting an exhibition of Elph's works in conjunction with the 2009 Scotland Homecoming celebrations. Fittingly, the exhibition chronicles Elph's engagement with Scotland's best known son (and Homecoming '09 icon) - Robert Burns.
Lest Bogles Catch them Unawares: Elph vs Burns is currently running till June 6. It's a small collection, but the bright, idiosyncratic images which interpret Burns and his works were just what I needed to cheer me up on an otherwise dreary Friday afternoon (the weather was horrendous).
I have never seen Elph's works on the streets, but it looks like he doesn't just rely on spray paints for his gallery works. Other mediums are incorporated including acrylic paint, watercolours and markers. Henderson's is also displaying (and selling) a large selection of Elph's sketches done in pencil and ink.
I don't ever think I've seen a graffiti artist featured in a gallery before, so this was certainly something new. I really liked how some of Elph's compositions continue outside of the canvas and onto the gallery walls themselves! The pictures consequently don't remain "within" any borders but actually manage to interact with each other, and with the gallery space itself.
You can view pictures of the exhibition here!
Elsewhere in Edinburgh, yet another graffiti artist Derm is exhibiting a series of mixed media works. Derm's Focal Range is currently housed in Pageant - a menswear store tucked away in Lauriston Street (yet another multi-purpose space!) Focal Range explores the prevalence of CCTV cameras in modern society. I was a bit underwhelmed by the exhibition personally, but if you're in the area you might as well pop in to check it out. The staff are good fun, and really friendly.
Have probably barely scratched the surface of what I'm sure is a thriving subculture of street art in Scotland. But I'm glad that I've at least wet my toes.
At the same time, I wonder if there are any tensions when graffiti - a medium so associated with the anti-establishment - becomes housed in institutionalized spaces like galleries. On one hand, I suppose it's reflective of how street art is no longer dismissed as 'vandalism,' but is being appreciated for its aesthetic qualities.
On the other hand, containing graffiti within mainstream/socially sanctioned spaces is also a rather sly way to "defang" it of its more incendiary potential as a medium of counter-cultural expression. I wonder if that's necessarily a good thing.
More questions to ponder on. In the meantime, I will also keep my eyes peeled for examples of street art in their natural, original setting - on the streets themselves! Just hope I get to them before the Edinburgh City Council cleans them off.
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