MCL presents #8

Artists, for example, offer insights into their activities via social media. Documentaries and feature films also cover the graffiti and street art scene. One example is the 2006 film *Wholetrain*, which sheds light on the everyday life of a graffiti crew.

In addition to the finished works, the acts themselves have been captured on film and in photographs since the very beginnings of graffiti culture. In doing so, the anonymity of those involved is often deliberately preserved by showing people with their faces covered or by distorting their voices – not least because many of these acts are illegal.

The panel discussion ‘What images tell us – and what they prove: graffiti in photography and film’ examines the significance of these recordings for documenting this largely temporary art form, as well as their role as evidence in criminal proceedings against those involved.

On the one hand, they wish to explore why the actions are recorded when the documentation could potentially be used as evidence in criminal proceedings. On the other hand, they wish to discuss the significance of the recordings for the dissemination, visibility and historical contextualisation of graffiti culture. Does the visual narrative thus become an own goal in criminal law?

This topic will be discussed by the director Florian Gaag (Wholetrain), the photographer and former graffiti artist Jennifer Kauka, and the criminal defence lawyer Florian Schönrock, who specialises in graffiti-related cases.