FREE THE BILLBOARD

The outbreak of street art, graffitis, tags and visual vandalism coincides without doubt with the expansion
of advertising and branding over the public space. It is the appropriation of public space by big business that
stimulates the need to reconquer it. While outdoor media companies are looking for new spaces to invade
citizens are denied the possibility to visually and publicly communicate their needs, opinions, interests.
Even if not mature or politically aware in nature the inscriptions on these two billboards that were left empty
for a mere couple of weeks illustrate this process well enough.

ICE CREAM AND CUTTLERY

First is the memory of an ice cream from Warsaw’s dodgy neighbourhood – Praga.
Then is a sign of a neglected Vietnamese restaurant on a colourful bazaar in eastern Warsaw.

ONE, TWO, FORTY-THREE

A few hand-painted numbers from different parts of Eastern Europe. Number one is the platform number from
a bus station in Riga, Latvia where I often used to stop over on my trips between Warsaw and Helsinki – quite
beautifully rendered in black-on-white and inverse. Number two is from Augustów in north-eastern Poland where
a hand-made sign had to do in lack of official street signage. Number forty-three is same story but from Nowogród
where a lovely folk party takes place once in a year.

AUTO CZĘŚCI

CAR PARTS in two intriguing versions both part of the same chaotic premises.

FOR THE ANIMALS

SHOP, ANIMAL SUPPLIES, FISH FEED
It’s not often you encounter advertisements that can boast a similar variety of letterforms and dynamic
composition as this local animal supplies shop. It seems clear that both signs underwent many adjustments
in both form and content in a constant pursuit of perfection. Please note the little fishes in the second specimen.

SWIMMING POOL FREESTYLE

Out of reasons unknown to me the eastern half of Warsaw has always been worse off than its western
counterpart. You can see that even on the Vistula riversides where the western bank is made of large
concrete steps with a bicycle path running alongside while the eastern side is mostly wasteland abundantly
overgrown by bushes and trees. And it’s the eastern bank where I found this abandoned and eroded
swimming pool complex with a variety of interesting graffitis and letterforms.

BAD PEDESTRIAN

WARNING BAD DOG/PEDESTRIAN
The surprising ambiguity of this sign was achieved by means of a simple intervention: scratching
the letters ZY at the end of the word PIES (Polish for ‘dog’) turned it into PIESZY – pedestrian.

PLUMBING EQUIPMENT

PLUMBING EQUIPMENT -OPEN- 9.00-17.00 SAT. 9.00-13.00
This sign is pasted outside a tin booth near my place and houses a tiny but well-supplied shop with
plumbing equipment. I couldn’t help noticing the beautiful hand-painted typography on the front
so on the first occasion I asked the owners who the author was. Apparently it was an old man, a friend
of theirs, who used to paint airplanes and, if I remember well, painted this this sign as a favour.
Unfortunately he passed away some time ago so I couldn’t interview him about this assignment.

VINTAGE HELSINKI SHOP

Ian Bourgeot of Arkadia showed these to me one day on a street near his bookshop. These are leftovers
of old letters saying MEAT and MILK in Finnish and Swedish above what used to be large shop vitrines.
They were made to last long but back then who would expect the advent of the omnipresent Alepa.

LIHAA – KÖTT – MAITOA – MJÖLK

BIKES ON TRAINS

A pair of extremely classy bicycles on train cars stopping over in the Polish town Augustów.
If you ride, ride with style.