Graffiti Stickers: an archaeology of protest, promotion and place-marking in a hybrid world

Graffiti stickers are an established medium for promoting causes that are flourishing as a print technology in a digital world. Stickering creates a material and public heritage of individual activism in urban streetscapes. This study, by surveying three contrasting Sheffield areas, examines stickering as a hybrid phenomenon where ephemeral stickers and digital sites combine to form acts of protest, promotion and placemaking. Using digital photography, GIS mapping and a study of online communities the project will investigate the real/digital world interactions and place-marking of sticker activism.

Graffiti stickering, a subcultural activity emerging in the early 20th century, has become commonplace in the urban environment. Initially linked to political movements it expanded to include the promotion of subcultural events and services. Counter intuitively print stickering is flourishing in a world dominated by digital networks. Sticker design has evolved to include devices such as QR codes. Stickers have become a method of connecting the real and digital worlds. This project investigates this hybrid phenomenon and its heritage value as the voices of individuals responding to contemporary events. The interactions of social media communities have become fundamental to a real-world activism that challenged the established cultural norms for expressing desires for political and social change. By considering the locations, placement, themes and networks that emerge from sticker activism this study aims to understand stickering as a material practice that places digital social networks within the physical urban landscape. Analysing this dynamic is essential if we are to fully understand the purposes of stickers.