Although graffiti has coloured the walls of large cities all over the world for the last decades, it is still an incipient trend in Ho Chi Minh City.

Art or eye-sore?

A Graffiti work

In the past few years graffiti artists, both foreign and homegrown, have turned their attention to the previously untouched walls of the country\'s largest city. Although to many people this is considered an art, many local residents have not come to see it this way.

Nguyen Thi Hai Anh, the owner of a shop along the road linking Dinh Tien Hoang to Vo Thi Sau, said that most of the shops with iron doors have been targeted with spray cans.

"We\'ve only been open for a month, but I\'ve had to hire a worker to clean off my sign three times. I have no idea who is defacing my property," she said.

Larger streets, such as Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Nguyen Van Troi, Truong Chinh and Cong Hoa are also in the same state. Many walls here are used as canvases.

One graffiti artist commented about public perception: “In order to make our pieces we have to wait until the middle of the night, like around 2 or 3am. Then we go around with boxes full of cans to find new walls to paint on." He added that one will always keep watch while the rest of the crew paints.

Fairly unused lanes with big walls such as Dinh Tien Hoang, Ngo Tat To and Nguyen Huu Canh are ideal places for writers.

Tran Minh Khang in District 3 said, “The authorities have sent workers to paint over this vandalism, but it keeps popping back up. I look at this as a stain on our city walls.”

A matter of place

There are many people in the city who do not oppose the art form itself, but feel that it is done in an inappropriate way, and in the wrong places, compromising the beautiful aesthetics of Ho Chi Minh City.

Tran Trung Hieu in District 3 said, “If we had a designated area for these young people to practice their art, they would not have to go walls of public places."

Many graffiti artists have already begun to move into the commercial realm, decorating spaces for coffee houses or children\'s play areas. One former graffiti artist, Huynh An Khanh, of Go Vap District, now specialises in this sort of decoration.

Khanh said, “I used to paint walls all over districts 1 and 3, but I was always afraid of being caught. Then a friend asked me to do my work in a few cafes. After that I began to find new clients. Now I\'ve found a way to earn money and satisfy my need to paint."

Recently, a graffiti project by two French artists held in District 2 has got a lot of positive publicity.

Also a space called Zero Station Centre, in District 3, is well-known for their courses in various forms of visual art, ranging from graffiti to gallery shows to cinema, helping bridge the divide between "street" and "high" arts.

Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has a number of graffiti crews, such as Colour and Style.

Hoang Minh Khang, head of the Style Crew, said, “We often choose houses or buildings which are going to be destroyed, but never pick out public walls or shops. We are willing to do our work at any venue who would like their walls to be more colourful.”

Graffiti is still an incipient trend in Ho Chi Minh City.