mystery graffiti
watch my video about this on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9byOue6vsk

mystery graffiti. A pattern recognition adventure.

click here to watch on YouTube if the embedded video above doesn’t work.

graffiti that’s been popping up around the vicinity of Aurora Boulevard, Philippines with the words “air” and “crazy love” on them.


I’ve been documenting graffiti and street art around places I’ve lived in since 2006. I have never encountered one as mysterious as this though. The past month, I keep seeing this very specific graffiti in at least 10- 12 different places within a 3 km radius of where I live.

It’s got curved lettering, second character always has a grin, and in some of the pieces, the words “crazy love” and “air” accompany it.

I kept thinking to myself, whoever drew this has to be the same person. it doesn’t seem to be some kind of crew or gang sign, so i don’t think it’s a collaborative effort. But i may be wrong. looking at the strokes though, it looks like it’s a one-man effort.

it reminds me of William Gibson’s novel Pattern Recognition, where the protagonist tries to figure out the mystery behind the patterns in a series of anonymously uploaded internet video clips.

I will make another video or photo series if I see this particular graffiti spreading its wings beyond my immediate neighborhood.

While I was putting my video together, I realized that I’d seen this very piece before, way back in February of this year in Aurora Blvd.

when i photographed that wall again last month, in August, It had been painted over as you can see. but when I went back to document two other spots along Aurora with that graphic, that same graffiti is back!

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