50 SHADES OF GREY_2014 (50 digital 8.5” X 11” prints)

NOTE: It is said that the human eye can decipher between 500-1000 shades of grey,  

This series of photos was developed from an anti-graffiti by-law put into effect in Toronto. (See link below for full description of the Toronto Municipal Code on graffiti) 

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/1184_485.pdf

The by-law states, beyond that the creation of graffiti is illegal, that the owner of the building/property must remove the graffiti within 72 hours or pay a fine. The method which the owner/property manager often employs to remove or mask the graffiti is paint, which almost never matches the surface that the graffiti was applied. 

My attention is drawn to the most ubiquitous surface of concrete where there seems to be even less attention to colour matching than any other material surface.  Concrete is commonly, perhaps unconsciously, seen as infrastructure and placed in the same realm as foundations, sidewalks, walls and bridge structures and so common that the material is “non-existent”. Because of this perception of concrete, its grey colour is also seen as “non-existent” and it is regarded as less important and therefore much less of a challenge to match the reflected surface colouration (hue, tone, saturation etc.). The act is to cover the concrete quickly with any “non-colour” such as black, white or any grey warm or cold. This deed is deemed for them, as well as for the over-seeing city officials, as an acceptable conclusion. These anxious acts of covering graffiti become a kind of performance, automatic paintings against the clock that are minimal monochromatic and essentially “colour field paintings”.