One of the most striking features of graffiti is their multigraphic nature. Graffitists, whether in ancient or modern times, have often felt the need to involve more than one sign system. A pierced heart by a lover, a gameboard on the temple steps – images, symbolic, and diagrammatic signs share the space with written graffiti worldwide. In some cultures, pictures outweigh the amount of text. Pictorial elements are integral to our understanding of graffiti as a universal practice.
This workshop explores graffiti as written artefacts that undogmatically use different modes of representation. By highlighting both textual and pictorial elements and their relation to each other, we aim at overcoming the separate treatment or lack of attention that resulted from a division of labour among the ‘textual’ and ‘visual’ disciplines. In what kind of dialogue have different cultures engaged these two modes of expression? How can the evidence be categorised, documented, and analysed? A series of case studies will address these questions, showcasing evidence from ancient Nubia to contemporary Australia.

Please register via the following link: https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/register-workshop8.html.