Upon travelling north towards Asia Minor Mother, the backstreets of Mytilini are riddled with wonderful shops (open before 1pm, closed till 5pm each day before reopening in the evening), cafes and a couple of religious cultural sites namely St. George church (1792) and Yeni Camii mosque (1825) (DETAM et al, date unknown). What is hard to ignore is all the graffiti.
Political Graffiti
Graffiti texts are usually an expressive social movement tool used to respond to some form of social, political or economic turbulence from below (Downing, 2011). Usually laden with feelings of discontent, outcry or sarcasm, graffiti texts often are used to advocate solidarity or inspire reflection among the public (ibid.).
Graffiti has long played a key role in Greece, capturing political tensions throughout the 20th and now 21st century. During both periods of the WWII and the Axis rule (1941-1944) and the Military junta (1967-1974), graffiti was an effective tool in the resistance to the oppressive powers (Downing, 2011). It also later played a role in the victorious legalisation of the communist party, symbolising the return of full democracy to Greece (ibid.). Graffiti recently has emerged as a commentary on the public discontent in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008 (ibid.). Graffiti of this content has been seen particularly in Athens (click here for more). This artistic outcry is alongside other publicly displayed self-institutionalised political challenges to authority like riots (Kallianos, 2013).
Kallianos (2013) –
“…the public space of the streets has never been more connected with radical politics.”
Athens has the largest graffiti scene in Greece, however it is very much present across the country, from large cities like Thessaloniki to small islands like Lesvos. Indeed, especially in present day Lesvos (2015-2016), where the coincidence of the refugee crisis and the rise of the far-right, neo-fascist, political party Golden Dawn locally, has sparked a graffiti frenzy (Stearns, 2015).
Above are just a few graffiti texts you should try and look out for along our path through the backstreets of Mytilini. The statements “No Border No Nation” and “Fear is a Prison” are purposefully provocative statements intended to change xenophobic mindsets in a time when solidarity is needed yet fascism is creeping in. “Refugees Welcome”, “Fuck The Patriots” (‘patriots’ being the far-right nationalists) and “Nazis Aren’t Cool” are more literal approaches to the same end. The anarchist symbol pops up everywhere in Mytilini, and classically symbolises Anarchism – a belief in a stateless society and an opposition to authority and hierarchy tied to a certain form of governance (Suissa, 2006). The anarchist symbol graffiti stems from the ongoing discontent many have with the entire political system which they believe is causing inequality, and lies at the root of Greece’s financial crisis.
Street Art
In addition to political graffiti, there is non-political graffiti artwork along our path too. The forms we see in Mytilini are purely creative expressions for a public audience rather than to present socially relevant content. A couple to look out for on the walk are pictured below.
[All the graffiti presented here as part of the walk was there at the time of publication]
References
DETAM (Mytilini Municipal. Company for the Tourist Development), ETAL (Lesvos Local Development Company, S.A.) and University of Aegean (date unknown) Mytilene e-guide. Available at: http://www.lesvoswalks.net/Mitilini_Guide.pdf (Accessed on: 3 April 2016).
Downing, J. D. H. (2011) ‘Political Graffiti (Greece)’, in Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media. Los Angeles: SAGE, pp. 408–410.
Kallianos, Y. (2013) ‘Agency of the street’, City, 17(4), pp. 548–557.
Stearns, J. (2015) Greek election triumph for left masks gains for the far right. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-21/greek-election-triumph-for-left-masks-gains-for-the-far-right (Accessed: 3 April 2016).
Suissa, J. (2010) Anarchism and Education: A Philosophical Perspective. Los Angeles: PM Press.
All Photos Taken by Site Owner, Unless Otherwise Stated in a Caption Under ‘Source’
The Three Women of Mytilini 