A Broader Perspective On Street Art: “The Things We Walk Upon” (A Photo Series)

No matter if it’s a stencil, a sticker or an actual graffiti, street art catches our eye because it can usually be found in our range of vision, on upright surfaces like a wall or a train. Only few street artists (e.g. ROADSWORTH) apply their works onto the sidewalk and hardly do we, as passersby, pay attention to what can be found right there underneath our own two feet.

That street art is not limited to upright surfaces only but that it’s sometimes worth paying a little more attention to what I literally walk upon, this revelation set in after I came across a piece of street art in Berlin’s Friedrichstraße. The summer weather of 2010 had been pretty mixed which tempted someone to put down the words “DAS IST DOCH KEIN WETTER”, which can be roughly translated as “DON’T CALL THAT WEATHER”. This statement simply hit a nerve, made me smile and resulted in the first picture of my series called “The Things That We Walk Upon”. The motifs of this series are not restricted to street art alone but also include, among other things, lids that can be found in the ground covering manholes or piping. Some of these lids look like pieces of art cast in iron. I was happy to discover that many cities around the globe actually pay attention to such “ordinary” things.

The work that started it all…

“Das ist doch kein Wetter” (Berlin 2010), the first one of the series.

Some of the Street Art pieces that I walked upon…

Pretty Lady, L.A., Venice Beach (2012)

“Life”, L.A., Arts District (2012)

“Tokey”, L.A., Arts District (2012)

“Mao meets Hello Kitty” in Hong Kong (2012)

A pretty koi fish on a Hong Kong sidewalk (Hollywood Road, 2013)

Street Art at the bottom of an empty pool in the former “Tent Station” Berlin (2010)

Ants, L.A., Arts District (2012)

“Golden Rule”, L.A., Sunset Drive (2013)

Cat, L.A., Arts District (2012)

Fake Kitty, Moganshan Lu, Shanghai (2013)

Cool, cute or pretty lids that I walked upon…

Some of Berlin’s sights on a manhole lid, Berlin (2013)

Pretty lid, Chiba, Japan (2012)

“Hachiko” lid, Shibuya, Tokyo (2012)

Lid with Augsburg’s “Zirbelnuss” (also known as “Pyr”, a type of cone), Augsburg, Germany (2013)

Cute lid with a purpose (a friend told me these lids are an indication for the fire fighters to where the water pipes are), Tokyo (2012)

Old school lid, New Orleans (2012)

“Münchner Kindl”, Munich, Germany (2011)

Pretty lid, Budapest, Hungary (2013)

Whale on a lid, Tamsui (formerly known as Danshui), Taiwan (2012)

Pretty lid, Tamsui (formerly known as Danshui), Taiwan (2012)

Lid, Hamburg, Germany (2012)

Lid, Tokyo (2012)

Lid, Eastern Market, Washington D.C. (2013)

Lid, Budapest, Hungary (2013)

Lid, Helsinkik, Finland (2012)

Lid, Helsinki, Finland (2012)

Lid, Taipei, Taiwan (2012)

Lid, Taipei, Taiwan (2012)

Lid, Taipei, Taiwan (2012)

Lid, Taipei, Taiwan (2012)

I recently started to pay special attention to the lids of Hong Kong’s gas supply lines, many of them have experienced a recent “design update”…

Gas supply line lid, Hong Kong (2013)

“Chocolate Rain” gas supply line lid, Hong Kong (2012)

Gas supply line lid, Hong Kong (2013)

Gas supply line lid, Hong Kong (2013)

Gas supply line lid, Kowloon, Hong Kong (2013)

Gas supply line lid, Wing Lee Street, Hong Kong (2013)

Gas supply line lid, Shelley Street, Hong Kong (2013)