Reading residents were surprised to find a sudden influx of graffiti on their streets last month. The surprise, however, was not from the quantity itself but rather its intriguing message.
Over the course of a few weeks walls were sprayed with the words ‘Read Marx’ or ‘Read Lenin,’ but since then the culprit appears to have ceased their handiwork. Much of the grafiti has been painted over, but that does not mean the unusual command to brush up on the communist manifesto should go unnoticed.
One of the first ‘Read Marx’ messages popped up on the side of the Reading Bowling Club in Kendrick Road. Passers-by were struck with its black lettering in stark contrast to the white-washed walls of the club. Perhaps the graffiti artist thought that it was high time to shake up the reading matter piles of the stereotypical clientele of such an organisation.
It is true to say that bowls has a gerontocratic stigma around it, and according to ‘History and rules of the game | Frankfield Pétanque Cork,’ the game itself is credited to being popularised in this country by none other than Henry VIII. Chances are that Henry is not your local communist’s idol. Furthermore, the King then banned the game for those who were not wealthy enough for nearly three hundred years. Players and clubs around the country have been trying to rid themselves of this stigma for the last two hundred years – not entirely successfully.
The next exhortation to ‘Read Marx’ appeared on the wall of the ‘Sure Hotel’ further up the road. This hotel is run and owned by ‘Best Western,’ a multimillion dollar company with over 4500 hotels worldwide. The chain of hotels was once involved in a legal dispute over its truth-stretching ‘nonprofit’ status. Yet again, this provides a suitable place for a little Marxist plug. This is not the work of your average delinquent. This is a graffiti artist who has mastered irony.
The timing of these visual political outbursts was interesting too. As more and more examples popped up on different streets about the town, each day a new story would come to light about our Prime Minister allegedly breaking the rules he himself had instated. Like a flame to dry tinder, the hypocrisy seemed to fuel the fires of our political felon. Soon the town was awash with their messages.
Much of the graffiti has since been cleaned off or painted over and only a handful now remains. It appears none has been given the same exaltation as that of the plastic-protected Bansky on Reading Gaol. For those who feel offended by the Marx and Lenin graffiti while at the same time appreciating the council’s effort to protect Banksy, it might be worth remembering that both are acts of vandalism yet both appear to be thought-provoking social commentary. Be careful, or you too may find yourself painted with the same hypocritical paintbrush brush or, should I say, spray can.
By Lily Whitelock
