Graffiti is a perfect art form for Myanmar.

Its quick and cheap, yet it can be see

n by thousands of people daily. It can be many things at once beautiful, politic
al or mysteriously private, depending on the artist.
In fact, graffiti, or street art, may have been the first art form: think of cav
e paintings, think of someone quickly writing their name or sketching an image o
n a restroom wall, think of carving a name or drawing into a tree: all simple ma
rks that declare, Im here.
Today graffiti is studied in academe, appreciated by sophisticated art connoisse
urs and found in prestigious museums.
Now it is well and truly cemented as part of Myanmars art scene.
The Institute Francais de Birmanie recently teamed up with various street artist
s to run conferences, street art performances, and workshops to help promote str
eet art. A grande finale was held in North Okkalapa township at the Pin Lel Stud
io on December 5.
Of course not everyone see graffiti as art, especially business owners who often
see graffiti art as a form of vandalism and defacement of private property.
The two most popular graffiti icons of Myanmar are Aung San Suu Kyi and Presiden
t Barrack Obama, whose images regularly appear across the city.
In Yangon, in 2012, using 15 cans of spray paint, the graffiti artist Arker Kyaw
painted a now famous mural of US President Barack Obama on a wall near his home
in Shwegonedine to celebrate Obamas visit to the country.
Passing taxi drivers and pedestrian gave him signs of encouragement as Obama s s
miling face took shape against a background of the American and Myanmar flags.
In 2013, Yangon municipal authorities announced a ban on graffiti and street art
, but since then graffiti has only proliferated, spreading throughout the city.
Graffiti artist claim passersby are more likely to stop and stare rather than st
op and scold.
Like all forms of art, the value is in the eye of the beholder. The graffiti art
ist known as Banksy, whose work has appeared in countries around the world, has
said graffiti art can be used as revenge or guerilla warfare (which it surely has
been in politically repressive countries); it can also be a way to undermine est
ablished authority; and it can be a comment on poverty, alienation, and the huma
n condition.
Or it can be viewed as simply one persons effort to put a little unexpected zest,
humour or beauty on a banal, drab wall or the side of a rundown building bringi
ng a quick smile as people go about their daily life.