Photo by Laura Morton
Earlier this spring in San Francisco, green works (maker of natural cleaning products) paired "Moose," an English reverse graffiti artist, with documentary director Doug Pray to produce this short film chronicling the creation of a mural inside the Broadway Tunnel.
Moose uses stencils and powerful cleaners to etch outsized silhouettes of indigenous plants into the soot-covered walls of the tunnel, creating a powerful contrasting image of the natural world in this stark urban context.
"I'm not the world's biggest environmentalist, but it's impossible not to tow the environmental line," Moose tells the camera. "The whole core of what I do is based around drawing in pollution and writing in nature. Nature's voice, if you like, is written in dirt like it would be written in blood."
If you have a few minutes to view the video, I encourage you to do so. The simple idea of painting in reverse, or adding by subtracting, is a very moving way to illuminate not only the existing environment of urban grime and the daily commute, but also the potential for cleanliness and a fresh start.
