Ghosts in the Machine

Ghosts in the Machine is a Graffiti Book written by artist Christopher Stead and renowned English writer Nema from the TPG and MOAS crews, a name, or rather a tag, that cannot have gone unnoticed by any fan of the British subway graffiti scene. The subtitle “The Hauntology of Graffiti and Rave Culture 1990-2010” explains what kind of book we are about to leaf through: photos and essays that explore the political and evolutionary intertwining of graffiti and the British rave scene. In the United Kingdom, these two cultures evolved hand in hand; while acid house paved the way for hardcore, increasingly creative and rebellious, and later jungle, graffiti writers also developed their own styles and approaches to fight the system in post-Thatcher Britain. Where they intersected, a history of British youth culture was formed, centered on resistance, collectivism, and creativity. 300 color photos on 360 pages, including wholecars and wholetrain window downs on the London Underground, and text in English.