REGINA – Some people share their emotions through song or poems, but Josh Goff shows his with the use of a spray can.
“I felt it was a really powerful art,” he said. “I got to express myself and have people see it.”
In high school, Goff got involved in graffiti, and very quickly, the line between what is legal and what is not was blurred.
“I had an incident with the law and I got arrested,” Goff said. “I figured out it was easier and better to ask people if I can paint on their stuff before I do it.”
With his creative mind it did not take long for clients to come to him, and Goff started making a living off graffiti. He painted everything from murals to trailers, and even started teaching kids the joys of working with a spray can, legally of course.
“I think some of them will still do illegal things,” Goff said. “I think that’s something that will always happen. But as long as there’s that option to have a difference experience with it, a positive one.”
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But positive is not the word many people think of when they see graffiti. For them, eyesore might be a better description.
“Even though we were doing art in a positive way, and a legal way, people were just taking offence that we were doing it with a spray paint can,” Goff explained.
He said over time that perception has changed. Goff and others in Regina have partnered with different organizations to help brighten up the city.
A mural he spent days working on back in October was unveiled Tuesday on the SaskSport building on Lorne Street. Its goal is to promote being active, while also keeping illegal graffiti at bay.
“We’ve been working with buildings that have high instances of graffiti tagging to install murals that hopefully will deter graffiti artists in the future,” said Judith Veresuk of the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District (RDBID)
Through projects like the SaskSport mural, Goff hopes the perception of graffiti will continue to change, and draw more artists to make a positive change.
“Whether it’s the whole act of trying to harness something that’s an aerosol spray out of a can to make something beautiful to just the general power of what public art can do,” he said.
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