'Save Greece from EU prison!' Desperate debt graffiti daubed all over Athens
As thousands of Greeks stage massive rallies over the debt crisis, some take to the streets expressing themselves through vibrant contemporary street art - both politically aware and socially engaged.
While ongoing negotiations between the Greek government and its international creditors remain gridlocked, Greeks have bitter experience of the hardships that the grave economic crisis has wreaked upon them.
Austerity measures dictated by the country’s creditors have shrunk the economy by a quarter resulting in a 25-percent spike in unemployment.
StrretArt News The crices in #Greece shows on the walls in #Athens#StreetArt#Art#UrbanArt#Graffitipic.twitter.com/ovehrNduqB
— Kim Kaos (@KimKaosDK) June 23, 2015
The effects of the harsh budget cuts on the population have
spurred an outcry on the walls of Athens, making it a thriving
hub of contemporary street art.
A man walks by a ‘ 0 Euro’ graffiti at a parking lot in #Athens. Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/ #Greece#EUpic.twitter.com/CkpCFEY47W
— ☠ GcRap ☠ (@RaptisCG) June 17, 2015
The prevalent theme of the vibrant graffiti is that Greece was
forced into a corner by the Troika (EU/IMF/ECB) of creditors.
StrretArt News The crices in #Greece shows on the walls in #Athens#StreetArt#Art#UrbanArt#Graffitipic.twitter.com/TUm1ou44s5
— Kim Kaos (@KimKaosDK) June 23, 2015
One piece of graffiti shows a wall with a fenced window and a
sign: “Free Greece from the European prison.”
StrretArt News The crices in #Greece shows on the walls in #Athens#StreetArt#Art#UrbanArt#Graffitipic.twitter.com/wDftASOnaA
— Kim Kaos (@KimKaosDK) June 23, 2015
A lot of a criticism is leveled at Germany with artists depicting
Chancellor Angela Merkel in several works. Merkel is seen by them
as the big bully leading the austerity push.
Show must go on... Graffiti art in ath #greece#imf#merkelpic.twitter.com/6eRVsrMs
— EliV (@elivou) December 2, 2012
A message of protest is conveyed by an image of the ancient
statue of Goddess Aphrodite of Milo wearing a scarf and a wreath
consisting of the stars of the European Union flag.
Anti-EU sentiments calling for a ‘Grexit’ are expressed by images of a man freeing himself from a cage.
StrretArt News The crices in #Greece shows on the walls in #Athens#StreetArt#Art#UrbanArt#Graffitipic.twitter.com/zQS9i866Yj
— Kim Kaos (@KimKaosDK) June 23, 2015
Others call on the Washington-based IMF to leave Europe and “go home.”
The lively artworks underscore the growing anxiety and fear among Greeks over the fallout from the bailout negotiations. On Wednesday, PM Alexis Tsipras said the international creditors hadn’t accepted the new Greek proposals. Fears are now mounting of a Greek default.
