The “art” of identity development—Graffiti painters moving through time and space

Abstract

Adolescents choose to be graffiti painters for very different reasons. Depending on their motivations as well as their abilities, different developmental trajectories can be observed within a given group of graffiti painters. In addition, the significance of movement and places has to be considered. On the one hand, the adolescents must have access to certain groups so that these groups can become meaningful for the individual. On the other hand, moving through different places and through time can open up new opportunities as well as creating tensions around different experiences within and between identity facets. Identity development is thus not a static but an ongoing process. For the observer, different influential factors must be considered in order to achieve a rudimentary understanding of this complex process.