In his series flüchtig Furger reflects on the transience nature of train graffiti on various levels. The word flüchtig in german means, fugitive, volatile as well as transient. The current series was mainly inspired by his observations on private railway lines in Italy.
A first level of transience can be recognized in the tradition of graffiti itself. Within minutes a piece is applied. The time of the “performance” is therefore very short. In order to preserve his anonymity, a sprayer always distances himself as quickly as possible from the “scene of the crime” and is therefore “fugitive”.
„ The transience of graffiti causes unintentional and spontaneous chemical reactions.“
Thierry Furger, 2020.
A second level of transience can be assigned to the carrier medium – the train. The train is constantly in motion and transports the graffiti from place to place. The graffiti is transported through space and time until it is cleaned or painted over.
A third level of transience is represented by the moving image of a graffiti piece. When a train passes by, a dynamic image is created, a “blurred” representation of confused colours and lines. An abstracted image results.
Finally, the multi-layered process of graffiti spraying, cleaning and over-spraying represents a further level of transience. Often the cleaning works, with aggressive solvents, leave stains, discoloration and shadows on the original material (e.g. train surface). The repainting of a cleaned area can again cause unintentional and spontaneous chemical reactions. The process of intervention by third parties, either the “writer” or the cleaning staff, is transient and therefore always in transformation .
In this remarkable series, Furger crates a painting out of a usually ephemeral process. By depicting and capturing this transience, he creates an exciting tension both on an aesthetic as well as conceptual level.
Tania di Brita
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