A scene like this is not unusual around Croydon because of the increasing number of graffiti artists around that area. However, is graffiti distracting from the authorised wall art, meters away? Here we can see that the litter and graffiti are not pleasant to look at. To many of us this has become the norm and it’s what we are used to in our neighbourhood. But is this really the way we want to portray our community?
Croydon council’s environment campaign has the slogan; ‘Don’t mess with Croydon, Take ‘pride’ The website states: ‘It's your duty to look after the environment and dispose of your waste responsibly….we can make Croydon one of the cleanest greenest boroughs in London.’ Does this image reflect this slogan? Is this the way we are showing we care about the borough? Leaving piles of litter around reflects an unwanted image of Croydon. Do we really want this?
We should try to put an end to this unacceptable activity.
The Graffiti artists could argue that all they are doing are expressing their artwork like the authorised artists. However is this really classified as art? Something that could have easily been a form of vandalism.
The litter surrounding the graffiti is not the ideal image we want to portray Croydon as. It shows that it’s a dirty area to live in. Should actions be taken to remove unauthorised graffiti from Croydon’s walls, or would that be destroying the artwork of an individual?
By Alice Monaghan
Croydon High School
