Post Vandalism

(2025)

I started the Post Vandalism IG account (@post_vandalism) in January 2019. At the time I didnt really know what it would develop into, but I knew something like this was overdue. It felt like we were coming towards a critical mass of artworks that dug into the gritty essence of vandalism and produced something that felt very real. This push is mostly driven by subcultural groups and was a step away from stylistic crossovers and a step towards a more open and experimental approach. The resulting works are chaotic and noisy, but also well planned and sensitive to the world around them. They share a similar aura and span across sculpture, intervention, film, painting, installation, performance and photography.

Although this has mostly developed outside the gaze of the institutional world, a key part of this project is mapping how they now appear there more often, whether in galleries, museums or project spaces. I wanted to record how artists are adapting their practices, on their own terms, for these new settings. In an art world that can sometimes feel a bit stale, this way of working feels genuinely energising. Who knows what it will evolve into, or whether this kind of work will even continue to move into formal spaces, but that uncertainty is part of what keeps it open and is usually where good things begin.

The book is visually rich and is accompanied with a foreword by art critic Larissa Kikol, an essay by criminologist Friederike Hauser, and an essay by myself, which covers ground on the artists involved in this approach.

Includes over 60 artists including Epos 257, Nils Jendri, Katharina Grosse, Brad Downey, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Gordon Matta-Clark, Baptiste Debombourg, Igor Ponosov, Saeio & Risote, Hans Leo Maes / Typical Plan, Alexandre Bavard, Mona Hatoum, Nug, Dash Snow, Daniel Weissbach, The Wa and many more.

Author: Stephen Burke
Publisher: Self-published
Published: November 2025
Language: English
Format: Softcover (with dust jacket)
Size: 17 x 24 cm
Pages: 144
Retail price: €36,50
Instagram: @stefano.bardsley