Being a human is hard and being a good human is harder. But art (the Queens Of The Stone Age ‘God Is In The Radio’) gives us the inspiration to keep coming back for another try. Graffiti on a McHugh’s poster in the New Lodge.
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“White lives matter!!!” Graffiti in racial (rather than nationality or class) terms, in the shadow of Teach Fhinn, New Lodge.
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Dominic Cummings, advisor to the ruling Conservative party in the UK government, was a source of controversy and widespread derision in May when he claimed that he had driven (during the coronavirus lockdown) from London to Durham in order to deliver his son to his grandparents and then to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight (WP). Protestations of disbelief and calls for his resignation were widespread, including the amendment to the east Belfast graffiti shown above: “We’re in this together – except for Cummings”. For the original, see Inspiring Belfast.
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“#ICantBreathe – George Floyd RIP”. Spurred by the killings of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and others, marches against police brutality and racism are now well into their second month, with (it seems) greater coordination but diminished frequency and intensity. The graffiti shown here on the wall below the old Sean MacDiarmada club replaces the “IRA here to stay” graffiti, which was on top of the “Dichoilinigh D’intinn/Decolonize Your Mind” graffiti, which was on top of “Heroin dealers will be shot dead” graffiti.
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HLI (web | tw) works to bring about “An Ireland where God is first”. Its “holy face” campaign asks people to partake in a form of devotion dating back to 1885 that involves reflecting on the face of Jesus in order to affirm the first three commandments (HLI). One of the images used is from the Shroud Of Turin, which radiocarbon dating has dated to the 13th-14th century (which is when it first appeared, in France), hence the graffiti “Get a life, not an afterlife”, “[Seek my face] … find a forgery” (in North Street). On another hoarding, in University Street, “the H_ngm_n” has lost a game of hangman with “Bella”. The final image, with SPUC’s “Repeal Section 9” is also from University Street. For a history of the shroud, see this CNN article.
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The on-going mural campaign to build more public and affordable housing in Belfast reaches the PUL side of the “peace” line. The old “Lurkers” writing can be seen above.
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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This RSYM (tw) mural in William Street, Derry, expresses solidarity with the protests over the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis PD. Among Floyd’s last words were “I can’t breathe.” The painter was surveilled and arrested on his way home from painting the mural (IRSP) perhaps because he included “ACAB” [all cops are bastards].
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Here are three images from the (upper) blind end of Tower Street, encouraging people to wash their hands (and take other measures) to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus responsible for Covid-19.
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Murals and street art in support of the NHS have been painted on walls all over the province in neighbourhoods on both sides of the religious divide. The chalk drawing above (“NHS Forever”) is in Oceanic Avenue in CNR north Belfast, next to the United Irishmen mural.
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Commentary on the coronavirus pandemic Great James Street, London-/Derry: “Lockdown is killing thousands. Covid = Flu”. The coronavirus ‘shelter in place’ orders in the UK and Ireland have various negative health consequences, including poverty from unemployment, an increase in alcohol consumption and domestic violence, and an unwillingness to seek medical attention for non-Covid-related ailments But it’s far from clear that “thousands” have died. Nonetheless, the continued isolation and disruption to normal living is proving difficult to bear.
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