January 23rd, 2006

SPACING: The genius of grafitti artist Roadsworth

Posted by Matthew Blackett

The Canadian answer to Britain’s Banksy, the world’s most legendary stencil artist, should be none other than Montreal’s Roadsworth. His work is subtle, clever and full of political and social commentary. He turns crosswalks into giant footprints, traffic lines into heartbeat monitor rhythms. He also recently faced 51 counts of mischief, which could have lead to fines adding up to $255,000.

But last week, all charges against Roadsworth were dropped. His only punishment from the court was to take part in 40 hours of community work that focuses on street art. That doesn’t sound like a punishment as much as an endorsement.

This week, Spacing.ca republishes Laura Boudreau’s profile of Roadsworth and his battle with Montreal’s powers-that-be. This article originally appeared in our current issue of Spacing.