"Rough hands, empty cans"

This time in Bishkek, we were proud to present different facets of graffiti and street art thanks to an international line-up including artists from the first generation of writers as well as local artists recently revisiting traditions through spray painting.

Rough hands and empty cans? This title echoes the daily lives of graffiti artists, with their paint-stained fingers and the sound of empty spray cans continuously rattling in their bags.

The works we presented may at first seem far removed from this messy urban world. Stylized lettering sits alongside a host of characters and illustrations on fancy paper.

Yet, all these artists are familiar with the constraints of streets. It has shaped the way they paint. The good and bad encounters, the physical obstacles, the changing weather… If studio work replaces the adrenalin of the street with confort, it is nonetheless the continuation of a movement which places the present moment at the center of the creative act.