# Graffiti as conversation

> A short 2005 observation: photographing layers of conversation in graffiti, prior art for spatial annotation on shared public surfaces.

- Page: https://www.elasticspace.com/2005/02/graffiti-as-conversation/
- Author: Timo Arnall (https://www.elasticspace.com/)
- Section: Notes (https://www.elasticspace.com/notes/)
- Published: 2005-02-28
- Updated: 2026-07-05
- Tags: PhD, Photography, Place, Public Space, Spatial Annotation, Urbanism
- Site map for agents: https://www.elasticspace.com/llms.txt

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![Layers of graffiti showing a back-and-forth exchange between different writers on a wall](https://www.elasticspace.com/images/graffiti-as-conversation/5331409_c5aba93d91.jpg)

*Layers of graffiti showing a back-and-forth exchange between different writers on a wall*

*A short February 2005 observation, connected to the ongoing research on [spatial annotation](https://www.elasticspace.com/2004/06/spatial-annotation/).*

I’ve been photographing layers of conversation in graffiti, and tagging the pictures with [conversation](http://www.flickr.com/photos/timo/tags/conversation/). Prior art for [spatial annotation](https://www.elasticspace.com/2004/06/spatial-annotation/)?