We lost in a mask

It is enough to see the Berlin Kidz sliding down with a rope from the roofs of Berlin illegally paint buildings – or to observe the painted masks of their metropolitan tribe, or watch them ride the subway cars while risking their lives – to understand that graffiti are no longer a child’s play as it was in the 80s. Like surfing, snowboarding or mountain biking, graffiti has become an extreme sport practiced for pleasure as much as to feel the adrenaline flowing in the veins. Over time, they have become structured, giving life to an industry that produces cans, streetwear, events. But the rules of the game have changed little or nothing. Everything is still based on the ability to make one’s name circulate more and more: getting up. For this reason, in a world that is divided between real and digital, between the city and the screens, the Berlin Kidz regularly produce photographs and videos for the web, using the same expressing codes of the extreme sports videos.