Reverse Graffiti Creates Murals By Cleaning

Anyone who has ever drawn a doodle into the caked dirt of a car windshield knows a thing about reverse graffiti. By taking away, you can create something new. That's exactly what energy company Polska Grupa Energetyczna, comic book artist Przemek “Trust” Truściński, and Good Looking Studio decided to do on the side of Poland's tallest dams. 

Solina dam is about 269 feet tall and, until recently, was in need of a good wash. With some strategic power-washing—performed by a team of artists suspended from cables—a beautiful mural emerged from the sludge. The gigantic work of art is nearly 300 feet wide and 177 feet tall, and features plants and animals found in Poland's Bieszczady Mountains. The mural is expected to last a full year before fading. Similar art is being created in the surrounding area on the sidewalks. 

Citylab

points out that while reverse graffiti is technically cleaning, it may still be considered vandalism. They use British artist Paul “Moose” Curtis—an early pioneer of the art—as an example. Despite taking away filth, Curtis has been arrested on multiple occasions. Still, it's hard to fault someone for making something cleaner. 

“It’s refacing,” Moose told The New York Times, “not defacing. Just restoring a surface to its original state. It’s very temporary. It glows and it twinkles, and then it fades away.”