Description
This article explores the methodological possibilities that graffiti offers to a spatio-temporal analysis of peace and conflict. Leveraging an original visual dataset of Belfast’s changing muralscape the analysis unpacks how the messages written and drawn on walls offer a lens into evolving local sentiments, politics, unity, and divisions. We suggest that the study of graffiti offers methodological innovation in understanding contested spaces as it provides unique insights into the ‘local’ in Belfast. Through the creation of the dataset and analysis of six geographical areas, containing 147 graffiti sets, and 680 individual pieces between 1998 and 2022, the article demonstrates an understanding of the way in which murals represent and are represented in a changing city. The dataset enhances an understanding of violence, avoidance, memorialisation and current social issues in conflict-contexts. More specifically, the Belfast data set demonstrates that despite the gradual move away from the depiction, or glorification, of violence, the majority of murals still have a tradition of otherness, forming part of the separate nation building processes amongst both Unionists and Nationalists communities. This study thus contributes unique perspectives into the 'local' dynamics of Belfast, paving the way for further research on graffiti as a lens for understanding complex societal phenomena.
