Graffiti, God, and the Question of Effort
Graffiti, God, and the Question of Effort
I’ve been thinking about effort lately. Especially in graffiti.
The graffiti that slaps the hardest — to me — is the stuff that isn’t trying too hard. Minimal effort, max flavour. Raw, fun, fast. It’s absurd and meaningless, and that’s what makes it magic. It’s not here to be beautiful. It’s not meant to be precious. It just is. And that’s the point.
The second I feel someone trying to impress me — polished lines, perfect symmetry, planned-out colour palettes — I tune out. I scroll past. I'm not here for a portfolio. I’m here for style. I’m here for flavour. Graffiti that moves like a mural or an oil painting or a uni art project — it might be talented, but it’s not alive. You take something unserious too seriously, and you suck the life out of it.
But then this question comes up:
If you’re going to put in effort — like real effort — what’s it for?
Where is that energy going?
Because to put in effort means you’re trying to contribute. Or you’re trying to gain something. If you’re just writing your name… and you’re doing it with hyper-detail, like it’s a Sistine Chapel — who’s it for? What’s the payoff?
No one’s benefitting from that but you. So the effort starts to feel like self-worship. Like the whole thing is: “look at me.”
I’m not against effort. I just think… if you’re going to labour over something, give that labour to something bigger than you.
And to me — the only thing truly worthy of maximum effort is God.
Glorifying Krishna. That’s where effort makes sense. That’s where it becomes offering, not ego.
Which brings me to the weird part…
Because here I am — doing exactly what I just criticised.
I’m out here painting Krishna. Lettering His name in wild, funky forms. Sometimes spending hours on it. And yet I’m not painting in a holy style.
My strokes are raw. My style is loose. It’s not delicate. It’s not traditional.
It’s like Renaissance content… done in an Expressionist form.
And I’m not saying I’ve got it right. I just do what I do.
This is my world. My medium. This is how it comes through me.
Yeah, there’s tension in that — sacred subject, raw form. But I’m not trying to act like that’s some special thing. I’m just reflecting on it. Open to evolving. Open to being wrong. But also not pretending I’m something I’m not.
This is where I’m at right now. That’s all I can really say.