The bigger picture

With One Eye Open is an ode to photography in graffiti.  From the photos that helped graffiti spread globally, to the snapshots that remain the only trace of a piece long gone. Since September 2024 we explore this topic by curating exhibitions, creating films, organizing screenings and talks.

With One Eye Open presents a comprehensive look at graffiti photography, featuring both young emerging talents and established photographers. ​It offers a rare glimpse into the hidden world of graffiti writing, tracing the evolution of photography within this vibrant and ever-changing art form, where the artworks created are often temporary and illegal.

Photography preserves this ephemeral culture, capturing not only the final piece but also the process and the creators themselves. ​Like the writers, graffiti photographers work under challenging conditions, often facing physical dangers and legal consequences. Their photos and presence during an action also pose extra risks for the graffiti writers they document.

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As graffiti has evolved, so has its documentation. What began as simple record-keeping of pieces has become a dynamic art form that tells the full story of graffiti, often without the actual graffiti pieces. 

The best photos are published in magazines and books, and of course, increasingly shared online, where a good photo often holds more attention than a simple documentation of the graffiti itself.

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We also explore how photography has transcended its role as mere documentation, focusing not on the aesthetics of the photo or the graffiti pieces alone, but on how new concepts and artworks are being created with photography as a key element.

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The title "With One Eye Open" has a double meaning: on one hand, it refers to the way a photographer looks through the camera lens, and on the other hand, it refers to the constant alertness required due to the risks present both during and after photographing.