Dans nos jardins 

Editor: This is "Dans nos jardins" by Miss.Tic. It appears to be mixed media – stencil and paste-up, perhaps? – on what looks like a public wall. It’s got a bold, graphic quality, and that hand-painted signature feels so immediate. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The rawness of the materials and the immediacy of the application are precisely where its power lies. Look at how Miss.Tic integrates her work directly onto surfaces marked by existing infrastructure – a doorway, an electrical box. It’s about interrupting the flow of capital and pre-existing signification with a message and image centered around the female form, both as subject and agent. Editor: So, it’s not just about the image itself, but the act of placing it there? The urban environment becomes part of the artwork. Curator: Absolutely. Consider the labor involved: the selection of the site, the creation of the stencils, the act of putting it up often illicitly. These actions constitute a defiant, material engagement with the urban fabric. Street art bypasses the traditional gallery system; the street itself becomes the means of production and exhibition, blurring boundaries and creating an immediate transaction with passersby. This work is available for everyone to engage. Does the image seem intended for a gallery visitor or those using a bus stop? Editor: I guess it's reaching an audience very different than those that would go to a traditional gallery. It brings art to people where they are. It's art as labour. Curator: Exactly. Furthermore, the ephemeral nature of street art underscores its challenge to the art market. Its value lies not in its permanence but in its act. Think of the work involved, the cost of material and opportunity in the context. Editor: That’s given me a whole new perspective on the value and context of street art. I was initially just looking at the imagery, and I’d missed so much. Curator: Precisely! Recognizing the production and delivery of work creates an additional field in our experience.