Graffiti Tunnel

One of the best elements of my recent weekend photography workshop was the opportunity to photograph places I would have never known about, and some places I might never have approached even if I had! Like many major metropolises London authorities have adopted a clever strategy in the fight against graffiti via designated graffiti zones. By providing these "artists" a legal spray place the hope is that graffiti will be thus contained to these spots and the rest of the city will remain largely spray-free. No idea if this tactic actually works, but it's an interesting approach to the problem. The authorised graffiti area that we visited was actually a tunnel not far from the London Eye, but stepping into the shadowy tunnel felt like stepping into another dimension. To enhance the experience eerie Gregorian chant music was playing throughout the tunnel on overhead speakers. I learned that the theory behind this music is to keep the thugs who tend to frequent this graffiti tunnel from staying around too long to make trouble. The music coupled with this strange environment is enough to make the sanest among us go mad, so it acts as a sort of noninvasive kind of thug repellent. After a couple hours shooting in this most surreal of places I could have used a little therapy to debrief!

Welcome to the tunnel (should you wish to enhance this experience put on your favorite Gregorian chant track now) . . .