Metagraffiti explores how graffiti art transmits ideas about graffiti culture. These insights, in turn, inspire a deeper understanding of the social construction of cities. Focusing on graffiti scenes from São Paulo and Santiago de Chile, this innovative visual ethnography examines diverse forms of self-reference and metareference that appear in Latin American graffiti art. Chandra Morrison Ariyo works across multiple scales of contemporary graffiti production – from tags to massive murals – to show how painting the city enables individuals to reimagine their own position within the material and social structures around them. She further reveals how practitioners such as Tinho, OSGEMOS, Grin, Bisy, and many others use metagraffiti features to influence public perceptions about this artform and its effect on the urban environment. Ultimately, Metagraffiti proposes a novel conceptual framework that highlights graffiti’s ability to forge alternative forms of movement, sociality, and value within Latin American cityscapes. These urban images invite us to imagine what the city could be, when seen as a site for action and for imagination.

CHANDRA MORRISON ARIYO is a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.