AGAINST RACISM COVER IMAGES: Jonna Tolonen

Stencil in the centre of Athens. Author unknown. June 3,
2018, Athens, Greece

Image aligned to the right Athens is a paradise for a street art researcher whose passion lies on political pieces. Along with Madrid, it is one of my personal favourites. What makes these two cities alike, is the vast amount of wall writings and paintings saturating the walls of the cities due to a strong presence of anarchists and left-wing thinkers. Yet, in Athens, there is a smaller frequency stencils than in Spain, and the writers tend to prefer free hand painting. Therefore, this particular piece, lying in the heart of Athens city, all alone in a recently white-washed wall, caught my eye. It’s strong and clear message was shouting out to all passers-by.

Jonna Tolonen is a photographer and a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland, Finland. She has been investigating political wall writings and street art since 2012, and has written and presented widely about the Spanish street art. Jonna’s current research interests deal with visual culture, socio-environmental justice and artivism.

Jonna Tolonen

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Written on March 31, 2023

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