Women on the Walls: Women as Subjects in Street Art around the World

Summary

The first book to focus exclusively on women as subjects in street art, this study, part travelogue and part dialogue, examines these depictions of women artistically, politically, and culturally across continents. Interviews with artists peel back the layers between artist and image, revealing stories about their work, its context, and its environment. From artists in LA pushing back on Hollywood's shiny perfection; to painters in Costa Rica examining the cultural links of women, myth, and nature; to women in South Africa decrying domestic violence, what links these works are their temporality and public ownership. Why do wall artists choose women as their frequent and favourite subjects? What does it say about our conceptions of gender and rebellion, protest, pride, place, and community? And how does the growing commercialisation of street art affect their portrayal? Colour photos and guided historical context provoke these questions and inspire further ones.